


Stress Relief

by Snarky_SilverHaired_Sociopath



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: (Aside from the rape of course.), (That's with Yorklina), Abusive Relationships, Action, And many of the Freelancers have to pay for it (especially C.T.)., Canon-Typical Violence, Consensual Sex, Drama, F/F, F/M, Lesbians, Sexual Abuse, Smut, South has serious anger issues., Unrequited Crush, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2018-01-30
Packaged: 2019-02-16 11:02:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13052673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snarky_SilverHaired_Sociopath/pseuds/Snarky_SilverHaired_Sociopath
Summary: Agent South continually has anger issues that start to affect her performance on the team. But she has one way to calm herself down. Unfortunately, it's at the expense of her teammate, C.T. Meanwhile, the other Freelancers notice her fluctuating moods. And they want to know why.





	1. Anger

**Author's Note:**

> IMPORTANT WARNING: There is a rape scene near the end of this chapter, but you don't want to read it, you can skip over it. It will start with a triple asterisk (***) and end with a triple dash (---). It does provide some characterization, but it is not necessary to read if this would make you too uncomfortable. Just know that if you do read this section, you were warned. So don't come complaining to me about it.
> 
> This fic will contain a few more sex scenes (with other pairings; and no rape scenes) that can also be skipped if you want to. However, the effects of the abuse will be explored in full. So if that distresses you to the point that it would make you unable to read it, I suggest not going on because that is important to the story.

North and South were fully armored in the training area. All the other Freelancers were observing as they watched the two siblings fight each other. North had the advantage, but South was still relentless. York was the first to speak up. “So, does anyone feel like placing bets? I’ll put twenty bucks on North.”

“Make it fifty and you’ve got a deal,” Wyoming snarked.

“Guys,” Carolina said, “Come on. Let’s just observe and not make a game out of it.”

“Then I guess Wyoming should be thankful,” York said, “because he would’ve lost fifty bucks.”

“Oh,” Wyoming said, “how do you know that?”

York simply pointed at the glass. South was going for a brutal assault. She tried to land a hit on him, but North dodged most of them. He then managed to grab one of her punches and kick her in the head while she was distracted. This gave him an opening to pin her to the ground. Something that absolutely infuriated her.

As North let her up for the next round, York quipped, “And there you have it. The story of how Wyoming almost lost fifty bucks.”

“Well,” Florida cheerfully said, “I think they’re doing an excellent job all around. You have to admire South’s ambition even though she will clearly lose.”

York laughed, but Wash stared at the fight confused. “I don’t get it. How is North beating her so many times? It’s like he’s not even trying.”

“That’s the whole point, Wash,” Carolina noted. “South lets her anger get the better of her and she goes for straightforward attacks. Nothing but brute force. North, being the calm and collected person he is, only has to be on the defensive.”

Surely enough, they all observed exactly that. South kept throwing punches, but North was able to dodge and block them almost as a reflex. She then caught him by surprise and kicked him in the chest, throwing him off balance to get more hits him.

“And then,” Carolina continued, “if necessary…” South was about to do a jump kick, but North came back just in time to grab her leg and throw her into the training wall. All the other Freelancers cringed in response. All except Carolina. “…using that brute force against her.”

North walked over to his sister and offered her a hand to help her up. “You need to be careful about leaving openings. You never know when an enemy will take advantage of it.”

South growled as she accepted her brother's hand. She did not like losing. Especially not to North. “Whatever,” South replied as North helped her up.

“Not ‘whatever.’ Come on, sis. You need to take this seriously. Otherwise, you’ll get yourself killed. Now let’s get ready for the next round.”

The fights continued, but South failed to learn. She kept losing every time, which made her angrier, which contributed to her next losses. This vicious cycle was not lost on the other Freelancers.

As a new round began, South tried to attack faster than North could dodge. It looked like it was working. North, for once, was overwhelmed and seemed like he was going to lose. He had to go on the offensive by trying some straightforward attacks, but South beat him every time.

“Well,” Wyoming started, “I suppose that this time, I would’ve gotten those fifty dollars, after all, York.” York simply scoffed.

“She really does not like losing, does she?” Wash asked.

"Oh, what gave you that impression?" York sarcastically replied.

Carolina was surprised that she was doing so well, especially considering it was nothing but brute force. But then she saw it. South was getting arrogant. She was confident in her victory. North took advantage of this. When she went for one final kick, he noticed an opening that she likely missed. He grabbed her leg and used it to flip her onto the ground, gaining him one final victory.

“Bugger,” Wyoming stated, “And here I thought she was going to win.”

“And that is such a damn shame,” York replied.

North once again offered his hand to help her up. But then as he pulled her back up, South decked him and tackled him and tripped him. After he fell, she tackled him and started choking him while punching his helmet in a fit of rage. Hard enough to crack the visor.

“Shit!” Carolina shouted.

“Get down there,” Wash replied.

Most of the Freelancers watched in horror and rushed down to the training center to stop South. However, Wyoming and Florida remained where they were. “Wait a minute,” Wyoming protested, “I think we should get some refreshments! It seems like it’ll get interesting soon!”

South kept attacking North as he tried to stop her attacks, but to no avail. Suddenly, a voice called out, “That’s enough, Agent South!” She stopped right where she was because she knew exactly who it was. The Director. She stood up as he approached the twins. “I believe that the next round had not officially begun. And attacking out of turn is prohibited.” The other Freelancers came in just in time to see the Director’s entrance.

“Oh, please,” South rebuked. “Like an enemy is going to give two fucks about 'attacking out of turn.' You said it yourself, use any means necessary, right?”

As North rose behind her and removed her helmet, the Director actually smirked at the comment. “That I did. However, that does not excuse attempting to fatally injure your partner in this match. And I'd have a damn good reason to keep you from the next mission should your attitude not be under control.”

“Oh, what are you gonna do?! Send me to that creepy shrink to talk about my feelings and how my childhood affected me while the rest of them go on missions?!"

"I absolutely will if you continue acting like a _goddamn child_!"

" _This is such bullshit!_ ” She pulled off her own helmet and revealed a face of pure bitterness and rage. She tossed the helmet to the side as she shoved her teammates out of the way. Carolina, concerned about her, followed closely behind.

"Definitely not helping her case here," York noted.

The Director was not fazed by her behavior at all. “Give her some time. She’ll come around,” he declared confidently. “North, go to the armory and go see about getting that helmet fixed.”

“Yes, sir,” he replied.

“And the rest of you can quit standing there. The show’s over.” They left after that remark.

Wash looked at North’s helmet and was absolutely shocked. “Holy shit. She did a number on that thing.”

"I'd also like to point out," Wyoming said, "that York now owes me fifty dollars."

"Shut up, Wyoming," York replied. "And no, I don't."

* * *

 Meanwhile, Carolina caught up with South in the locker room. She saw the blonde disassembling her armor in a huff. “South,” she started, “what the hell was that out there?” No response. “You could’ve seriously hurt him. You need to control your anger.”

“You ever had a sibling before?” she sardonically replied. “Siblings fight all the time. No big deal.” She continued stuffing the plates in her locker while down to her compression suit.

“I highly doubt that it’s to the point of attempted murder.”

“You got something to say about it, Lina?” She got in Carolina’s face. “Go ahead, bitch! Say what you’re gonna say! I’d really like to hear whatever self-righteous crap you’re gonna spout off to make me look like I’m the asshole!”

Carolina resisted the urge to confirm that South really was being an asshole. She instead took a breath and said, “South, this behavior is going to jeopardize our missions. You can’t just go off on people like that.”

South paused. “Look, I’m just a little stressed. I’ll be fine.”

“I highly doubt that.” South simply slammed her locker shut in response. All Carolina could do was shake her head. "Maybe the Director is right. You need to stop acting like a goddamn child."

Before she could throw a punch, Maine came in and grabbed her hand and growled at her. She simply scowled as she ripped her wrist away. She stormed out as both Maine and Carolina stood there and watched. “Thanks, Maine.” He simply nodded and walked away. Carolina had no idea what to think of South’s behavior. If she kept acting like this, it was definitely going to affect the team. So she needed some help. She knew where she had to go. To one person who would know her well enough. Her brother.

* * *

C.T. sat in her room after coming back from a workout. She only wore her sports bra and some shorts. As she drank some water and wiped her sweat away with her towel, she heard pounding on the door. She froze because she knew who it was. She didn’t want to open the door. She sat there as she heard the pounding continue. It wasn’t going to let up. So she gulped and went to open the door.

Sure enough, it was exactly who she thought it was. Agent South Dakota. She was clad in a purple tank top and shorts like C.T.’s. South looked down at her with contempt. South walked further into the room and C.T. backed away from her. “Connie,” South said. C.T. hated that name, but she couldn’t bring herself to correct South.

And after a few moments of silence, South reminded her why. She roughly grabbed C.T.’s head and forcefully kissed her. This was always how it started. South couldn’t help but be rough with her. She only came around for this when she was overly stressed. And she wanted to take it out on her.

***

South pushed her onto the bed and pulled off her sports bra and started kissing her neck. She rubbed C.T.’s crotch through the shorts. C.T. wanted to stop her, but this wasn’t the first time. She tried stopping her once before and ended up with a busted lip. She fought a few times, but it became too tiring to stop her. So, she let it happen. C.T. tried to put herself anywhere else in her mind. Trying to avoid the situation, but a bite from South. C.T. yelped as tears started falling from her face. South aggressively pulled down the shorts just before removing her own tank top. As always, C.T. was not looking forward to it.

South rubbed C.T.’s folds as she sucked on her nipples. She wanted to get her wet before she put her fingers inside her, so she did as much foreplay as possible by kissing every inch of her above her waist and dragging her other hand over her thighs. C.T. tried resisting the feeling, but it didn’t help. She could feel herself getting wet all the same. South could, too. She roughly slid two fingers inside of her as soon as she was wet enough, making the other woman gasp and her eyes widen. South loved watching her squirm.

She used her thumb to rub her clit as she got wetter. She left bite marks all over C.T.’s body. That made it even worse. South was only trying to cause pain. The pleasure was just to add insult to injury. And C.T. hoped that it would be over soon. The first time South did this, she tried resisting the orgasm. She felt as if her body was betraying her because it was what South wanted. But it only made things longer. By now, she let it happen. She even tried to make herself orgasm faster just to make it end sooner, but it didn’t help much.

“You better cum for me, Connie,” South harshly whispered into her ear. South knew that statement would torture C.T. She didn’t want to do what South wanted, but it would only make things longer if she resisted. Neither option was desirable. Against her own wishes, C.T.’s breath hitched as she felt the orgasm building up. She wasn’t loud, but South preferred that. She didn’t want anyone listening in on them. South started licking under her chin. C.T. cringed in response and South chuckled at it.

C.T. quietly moaned as she got closer to coming. South went faster with her fingers to bring her closer to the edge. “Come on, Connie.” C.T.’s breathing kept getting faster. She gripped the sheets as she got closer. South only smiled as she watched C.T. She came quietly, but it was intense. Her fingers even started trying to dig into the mattress as South made her cum. South kissed her again and her tongue traced every inch of her mouth.

South laid her head on the pillow while grabbing her hair. C.T. knew what was going to happen next. South quickly pulled off her shorts and panties while keeping the other woman with her. As she tossed both to the side, South said, “You better start eating, Connie.” She spoke so gruffly that it almost sounded like growling. She yanked C.T. close to her crotch. C.T. yelped and dreaded having to pleasure her. And South was already very wet.

C.T. hesitantly began to lick the folds and she heard South’s heavy breathing. The sound made her shiver with disgust. But this was the tamest sound that she found repulsive. After a few minutes, South started moaning. And her moans were not feminine in the slightest. She heard her grunting as South bit her lip. “Oh, fuck,” South moaned. “Yes, Connie.” It crushed C.T. to hear South praise her for this. And there was no way to ruin it for South even if she wouldn’t make her pay for it in some way. She considered biting her clit, but she was afraid of if South would pummel her. She was already angry and that’s why she was there. She didn’t want to make it worse.

“Get your tongue in there,” South said as she shoved C.T.’s head further into her crotch. She whimpered as she felt the hand on the back of her head. She stuck her tongue inside South and licked her inner walls. South started moaning even more, swearing profusely as she did. “Don’t forget my clit,” she added. South was loving it more and more as she fondled her breasts while gripping C.T.’s head tighter. Her eyes squeezed shut as she felt herself getting closer to orgasm. She gripped her own thigh, digging her nails into her skin.

C.T. knew South was going to cum. It was almost over. While South was being relieved, C.T. was going to be more relieved to have this be over. As South came, her eyes rolled back into her head and she let out a guttural growl. C.T. tasted South’s vaginal fluids. She wanted to vomit as soon as it touched her tongue. And she knew South wanted her to swallow every drop. Wanting to avoid retaliation, she ingested as much as she could. Tears, once again, started to flow from her eyes.

\---

South started coming down from her orgasm as she laid on the bed, staring up at the ceiling as she held C.T. between her legs. She released C.T.’s head which allowed her to pull herself up to her pillow and lays face up with South, still in shock. Her face covered with her tears and South’s vaginal fluids. No matter how many times South did this to her (and it had to be at least a dozen now), it never got easier. She was miserable and terrified. Even when South made her cum, she just felt like her body was betraying her. She didn’t want to enjoy what South did to her. It was awful.

But after a few moments, South wordlessly got up from the bed and started getting dressed. This was always how it was. South only needed C.T. to get her rocks off. To reduce tension. To make her a bit less of an angry bitch so that she’d be tolerable to everyone else. South couldn’t even be bothered to acknowledge C.T. or the pain she caused. South was done with her for now. She didn’t care. She just left without another word.

C.T. just turned on her side and let the tears fall again, lying motionlessly. This likely, by no means, would be the last time. The end of this would only be the calm before next storm.


	2. Doubt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carolina attempts to smooth over the situation with South.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you hadn't noticed, I recently added Yorklina and Sigma to this story. (And for the fellow perverts, yes. there will be a Yorklina sex scene. But for those who aren't into that, it will also be skippable if you don't want to read that. I will remind you of this stuff when the time comes.)
> 
> On another note, this chapter will focus more on Carolina; C.T. will be absent. I would've included her, but it was shortly after the rape (maybe up to an hour). So it wouldn't have been that realistic that C.T. is back up and out again. But do not fret. She'll be in the next chapter.

Carolina was with the Director while planning the next mission. She worked with him to find the best way to infiltrate a military compound. The hologram of the base was shown on the holo-desk. “It will be heavily fortified,” the Director said. “They’ll have soldiers patrolling all over the place. We need to find a way in.”

“And more importantly,” Carolina continued, “we need some way to keep us covered once we get out. Are there any high places nearby? We could get Wyoming and North to keep an eye on things.”

“That’s going to require cover that will not be provided by those rooftops. And chances are, they have some of their own snipers keeping watch as well.”

“Then that is our entry.” Sigma appeared and moved to the holo-desk. “If I may provide some input.” Sigma highlighted the guard towers. "If we could get into those guard towers without being spotted, we will have all the cover we need to perform a full infiltration without the need for extra cover.”

“There are _five_ guard towers, Sigma,” the Director interrupted. “We would need to infiltrate all five of them at the same time. If we miss our timing on any one of them, everything goes to shit fast. They will notice their comrades being picked off. We need another tactical advantage.”

“Actually,” said Carolina, “It might work if we can get some extra snipers. We just need to have a good way to keep watch on all of them before we get in.”

“And how exactly do you suppose we do that?”

“Well, we have could have 479-er looking over thinks once she drops us in. Or, as always, you could keep watch from the ship.”

“That is not a bad idea,” Sigma states.

“Of course, you would think that,” the Director replied. “but I need a foolproof plan.”

“Well, we have about five days to come up with one,” Carolina noted, “so we’ll have plenty of time to work out the kinks. Let’s talk about what we do to get inside once we have that cover. The compound only has four entrances. No windows. That’ll be a problem."

"Actually," Sigma added, "there are some doors on the roof that are accessed by maintenance. No one would expect that.”

The Director adjusted his glasses, and he knew that Sigma had a point. “I guess not. Moving on.” He expanded the schematics and showed more of the interior plan of the compound. “The main database will be physically located in the bottom of the building. How do you plan on getting down there from the roof?”

“Very carefully,” she factiously replied.

“I don’t remember asking for a comedian, Agent Carolina.”

“If I may interject,” Sigma said, “despite the joking nature of her suggestion, that is precisely what they need to do. Guards are strategically placed in areas where they can observe larger sections of the hall. However, they will not be able to observe each other. Quite a flawed strategy if you ask me.”

“So, they might give us an opening,” said Carolina. “If we pay attention to their patrol patterns, it’ll be a piece of cake.”

“Precisely.”

“Very well,” the Director replied. “That leaves the matter of getting you into the database. You’ll be the leader of a team of three. There will be an electronic lock, and since you’ll already have Agent York, this will work out perfectly. You’ll only have a small window to take everything in the database. Once we have it, we might be one step closer to what we need.”

“Okay,” Carolina replied. “Now for teams. North, Wash, C.T., Florida, and Wyoming can take the guard towers. Then York, Maine, South, and I will go on the roof.”

“I wouldn’t advise having Agent South on your team.”

“With all due respect, sir, she is a stealth expert. She would be a valuable asset.”

“And her current volatile temper makes her a serious liability! South will _not_ be going on this mission! It is too important to jeopardize now.”

“Are you gonna send her to a group of sim troopers? That’ll end well.”

“Carolina, if you have something you wanna say, I suggest you not beat around the bush. I’m assuming you have some way to deal with South’s anger issues.”

“Not yet, but I’m going to talk to North –”

“Then I’ll stop you right there if your answer is ‘not yet.’”

“Sir, please! I can take care of this. Just give me some time.”

The Director scowled, but he reluctantly agreed. “Fine. You go see about Agent South. But if we don’t get some results, it’ll be on you. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Dismissed.” And with that Carolina exited the room. “Alpha, please run simulations on the compound to find a suitable method to carry out Sigma’s plan for the guard towers.”

“You got it, boss,” the Alpha replied.

Down the hall, Carolina and Sigma were on their way to talk to North. “What is the likelihood of you actually getting through to Agent South Dakota?” Sigma asked.

“I honestly have no idea,” she honestly replied. “but I know I’ll do it.”

“Hey there, Carolina,” she heard a voice say. She turned around and saw York catching up with her. Sigma’s hologram turned off as soon as York approached. “I’d hope you’re not avoiding me. And after such a fun night.”

York could easily make her smile. Even at her most serious. “That was a while ago, York.”

“I guess four days constitutes a long time for your now.”

“As much as I’d love to keep this up,” she said as she walked down the hall, “I really don’t have time for this now. I have to see North.”

He walked with her as she left. “Ouch! You’re already seeing someone else?” he said sarcastically, faking sadness. “I’m hurt that you would do that to me.”

“Not that, York! I need to talk to him about South.” Before he could make a joke about her banging South, she interrupted him by saying, “ _And her anger issues._ ”

“Alright, alright. I’ll be serious for once. So, what do you plan on doing?”

“Funny. Sigma asked the same question.”

“And your answer?”

“Not a clue. Not yet at least.”

“That certainly inspires confidence.” Now his tone became more serious. “Honestly, whatever you’re gonna do, do it soon. After that training incident, she’s really starting to scare me. I don’t know what she’ll do.”

“I know. I honestly feel like we’re dealing with a time bomb.”

“So, would that make you the resident bomb-defusing expert?”

“I guess we’ll see.”

* * *

North was in the cafeteria eating lunch with Wash. And Wash was still wearing his helmet, much to North’s confusion. “Are you ever going to take that off?”

“What? It’s fine; trust me.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

North then smirk. “Okay. Prove it. Eat something right now.”

“Easy.” Wash picked up an apple and raised it to his face. Already, he was having a problem getting it past the helmet. And he really did try. Even attempting to put it in under his neck. “Hold on. I almost have it.”

“Wash.”

“Yes?”

“Just take off your fucking helmet.”

Wash’s hands dropped onto the table. He sighed and said, “Okay.”

Just before he did, Carolina walked in and sat down next to North. “Hey, guys.”

“Carolina,” North replied. “You just missed it. Wash was trying to eat with his helmet on.”

“I’d believe that.” She turned to Wash and said, “Hey, do you think you can go somewhere else? I need to talk to North about something privately.”

“Fine,” he said as he picked up his tray. “I’m sure there’s someone else to talk to.”

As he left, Carolina scooted closer to North. “Feeling okay from that training match?”

North chuckled. “Hey, I’ve dealt with worse. I think I’ll be fine.”

“So… you’re not concerned about what South did?”

“Of course, I am,” he bluntly said. “She’s my sister, and that sort of outburst from her is troubling.”

“That’s actually what I wanted to talk about. Has South always been… you know…?”

“An aggressive rage monster ready to crack at any second?”

“More or less.”

“By the way, I’m the only one who gets to say that. Sibling rights.”

“Trust me, I wouldn’t even try. Especially not to her face. So, what’s the deal?”

North sighed as he looked away. “Well… I can say that she’s had some issues controlling her temper. She got into fights often that I had to split up. She was pretty impatient and rather reckless. Surprising that she made it past Basic.”

“I guess she made it even with those flaws.”

“In spite of those flaws.” Carolina was confused by this comment. “Apparently, she can keep those things under control for long enough to get things done.”

“Did she ever fight with you? She kinda implied that when I saw her in the locker room.”

“Really?” Carolina nodded. North sighed in response. “No. We always had each other’s backs. She never actually hurt me. That incident in the training room… I’ll admit. It scared me. It’s like she’s been getting worse.”

“Well, to be fair, the structure of this organization makes things pretty stressful. I know that all too well…”

“Well, at least the job provides some great mental health coverage.”

“I doubt Price would be much help with this.”

“Well, if you’re planning on doing this, you’ll need to be delicate with it.” He sarcastically added, “I’m sure you’ll be good with that.”

Carolina smirked. “Thanks, North. I’ll be thinking about it.”

* * *

Carolina went to the gym to workout and clear her head to handle South’s situation. That’s where she found South at the punching bag. It didn’t look good to Carolina because she looked just as aggressive as ever. Carolina went over to South to talk to her. “Hey!” Carolina called out. “You doing alright?”

South stopped and turned to her. “Yeah. Why?”

“I don’t know. I just thought you might be here to blow off some steam.”

South sneered and knew exactly what she was talking about. “Okay. If this is some attempt to help me with my temper, let me tell you. I’m fine. I’m not taking it out on this punching bag.”

“Right. You just took it out on your own brother.”

“Not on North… just his helmet.”

“Well, that’s certainly convincing,” Carolina sardonically replied. South scoffed as she kept punching the bag. “Anyway, I’m gonna need someone to spot me. Do you mind?”

“Are you sure you want someone with rage issues to have your life in her hands?”

“I wasn’t worried about that until now.”

She side-eyed Carolina, annoyed that she took it seriously. “I’m not gonna do anything.”

Carolina went to the bench and lifted the weight off the stand as South stood over her. She started doing her reps. “You know, is there anything that’s been stressing you out recently?”

South sighed. “Yes, actually. It’s been pretty bad.”

“What is it?”

“Well, there’s been this really annoying redhead that’s been bugging me about how I’m apparently too angry all the time. Do you know what I can do about this?”

That was it. She put the weight back and stood up furiously. “Why are you being so fucking difficult about this?!”

“Because I don’t need people prying around in my personal business! What about that do you not get? How would you feel about me trying to talk about you and your desperate need for approval from the Director?”

That genuinely angered Carolina, “ _Are you trying to make it your personal mission to piss everybody off?! Is that it?!_ ”

“ _Maybe everyone should stop trying to piss me off!_ Though I guess me being angry at you gives you some attention. And I know how much you desire that.”

Carolina clenched her fists as South glared at her. She tried to resist the urge to punch her right then and there. “Is this a bad time?”

Both women turned to York, standing in the doorway, watching them their argument. “York, stay out of it!” South snapped. He backed off immediately.

Carolina took a deep breath and composed herself. “Look. This is something that affects the team, too. It’s not just about you. If you do something reckless because your anger, it could jeopardize a mission. So, excuse me if I’m a little concerned about whether or not you’ll get us killed in the field.”

“Well, I guess that’s your problem then,” South said before walking out of the gym.

York walked over to Carolina as they both watched South leave. “So,” he began, “is this your big strategy? Because things seem to be going flawlessly as far as I can tell.” Carolina crossed her arms and glared at York. “Don’t take it out on me now!”

Carolina sighed. “She’s too stubborn. Everything we do can’t get through to her.”

“Well, she doesn’t seem as angry now. Just…”

“Confrontational?” she finishes.

“Oh, are we gonna be that couple that finishes each other’s sentences?”

“If you want us to keep being a couple, you’ll need to start being serious about this.” She went back to the bench. “Speaking of which, being confrontational isn’t much better. It’s going to make working together even harder.”

"Well, was she trying to rip your head off?"

"No. But something tells me she was trying to make me do that to her."

“Better than the alternative. Worst case scenario, I’m sure that the Counselor will help with that… on second thought, maybe not.”

Carolina smirked as she went back to the bench to do more reps. “That’s what I said to North. So, you wanna spot me?”

“And be emasculated by watching you bench more than I could ever hope to do?”

“You know you like my abs.”

“Fair enough,” he said without hesitation. “I’m in.” Carolina laughed as she continued her workout.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will say that South's rage comes from some genuine psychological issues. Not that it excuses what she did to C.T., but it is a problem. Obviously, it's not from any trauma. North pretty much explained everything. And don't worry, I'll be discussing C.T.'s side more in the next chapter. I will not leave her end of the story out of this.


	3. Pressure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> C.T. attempts to get some help, and the Freelancers embark on their mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will say that some sections may seem rushed, but I just needed to get things out since the chapter was getting extremely long (by the standards of this story). And that is the warning that this will likely be the longest chapter yet, so be prepared for that.

The next day, C.T. hurried to the Counselor’s office. It was too long to keep pretending that she could really handle what South was doing to her. The nightmares, the anxiety every time she stayed in her quarters. She had to get some help. Price wasn’t much of a therapist, but he was still a psychologist. It was worth a shot.

As she went down the corridor, she came across Carolina heading to the gym. She was wearing a blue sports bra and black shorts. C.T. couldn’t help but stare and feel embarrassed. She was undeniably beautiful. She thought so for the longest time. She might’ve thought she had a chance with her. But then South came in her room the first time. She couldn’t show her face to the woman she wanted to be with. She’d never be able to face her again like she used to. Especially not with York.

“Hey, Connie,” Carolina called out. _Oh, shit_ , C.T. thought. She was glad to hear Carolina acknowledge her, but using… that name… both things made her heart race for good and bad reasons. “Connie! What’s up?”

“Don’t call me that,” C.T. brashly replied. “I’m not a fucking child.”

“Sorry. C.T. So, where are you headed?”

“I’m headed to Price and I’m in a hurry.”

“Really? Why?”

She didn’t feel like explaining exactly why. She’d rather not have her be involved. “Just… another one of those stupid psych evaluations.”

“Ugh! I hate those. Hopefully, it’s not too terrible.”

“Same here. See you later, Carolina,” she said as she walked away. They went their separate ways and C.T. hurried for the Counselor.

She knocked on the door as soon as she got there and waited for Price. Thankfully, he wasn’t too busy at the moment. The door opened up immediately. “Agent Connecticut,” he said in his usual dull tone. “Is there something you needed to discuss with me?”

C.T. hesitated. She was starting to have doubts about this plan. She didn’t think she could. Still, she tentatively entered the office. “Um… Well, yes. I’ve been having some issues lately.” She sat in the chair on the other side of the desk. “I… well… everything in here is confidential, right?”

“Unless this issue were to be affecting your performance in the field, yes. Things would be confidential. And even then, only the necessary information would be told to the Director only.”

It wasn’t really confidence inspiring when he couldn’t be bothered to speak in a more reassuring tone, but she took that answer as it was. “Well, it hasn’t been affecting my performance, but…” _I can’t work with a member of the team because she’s been raping me for the past few months? Oh, this was a terrible idea! What if South finds out?!_ She didn’t want to think of what South would do to her if she said anything. Still, she continued. “I’m just going to have to come out and say it… I’ve been… sexually assaulted… and I just… can’t keep this to myself.” She hastily added, “It isn’t something that happened in Freelancer. It’s… a past incident that has been… plaguing me more than usual. And I need help.” She mentally kicked herself for adding that. She just couldn’t mention that it was South that was doing this to her even though she really wanted to.

Price’s face still betrayed no emotion as he observed C.T. It didn’t help ease her tension. “So, it would appear it is some post-traumatic stress that you’re experiencing? Have you been having flashbacks? Nightmares? Anxiety attacks?”

“The last two.”

“I see… well, I am always available if the symptoms become worse or too much for you to handle. But all things considered, you may need to be taken off the next mission – “

“No!” Price pause where he was at C.T.’s outburst. She composed herself and continued. “I can do the mission. I really can. It won’t affect my performance.”

“Then why did you need to tell me this?”

“I… I just… I just couldn’t keep this to myself anymore… I needed to get it off my chest.”

“Very well. You shall stay on the mission.”

“Thank you.”

* * *

It was the night of the mission and all of the Freelancers were in the Pelican, awaiting their mission. As everyone sat in their seats, Carolina stood in front of everyone and briefed them on the mission. “Alright, everybody! Listen up! We need to run this perfectly if we stand a chance at getting this done, so let’s go over our roles one more time. North, Wash, Wyoming, C.T., and Florida. You five will be taking the watchtowers. You need to all move quickly once the signal is given. Not a single. Person. Out of place. Not one. If we miss one, then we are completely fucked. Understood?”

“Get in, do it quickly, and don’t let the guard’s see you,” Wyoming snarked. “I think that’s pretty clear, Carolina.”

“If you wanna prove that to me, then don’t screw it up. Now, do all of you know the respective guard towers you need to infiltrate.”

“Yes,” all five of them said.

“Good.” After that, Carolina went up to the front of the ship to talk to 479-er. “You gonna let us know when we hit the drop zone?”

“This isn’t my first rodeo Carolina,” the pilot responded. “I’ll let you know when.”

“Good.”

Meanwhile, everyone else was mentally preparing themselves.

North turned to South. “You got this, sis?”

“Yes, North,” she snapped, “I do!”

“Easy. No need to get all aggravated.”

“And if you do,” Wyoming added, “could you possibly attempt to beat Wash into a coma?”

“What?!” Wash yelled. “Why me?!”

“Just admit it. You really are the worst fighter on the team.”

“I’m not that bad! Am I?”

“Let’s just say,” South responded, “that I’m glad you’re not going in with us.”

“Oh, come on! Maine, I’m a good fighter, right?” Maine simply shook his head.

That’s when Florida put his hand on Wash’s shoulder. “Cheer up, Wash. You just need to have a positive mental attitude. You can do this.”

“Thanks, man. I really appre-“

“Although,” he continued in his cheerful, “you are more likely to be taken out in hand-to-hand combat should the situation arise. In that case, you really wouldn’t be able to do it.”

“Did you really have to add that?”

All of them laughed as Carolina came back. “Alright, guys. Cut the crap. Make fun of Wash on your own time.”

“You, too?!”

Carolina ignored him as she went to South. “Listen, keep yourself under control. The last thing we need is your temper or recklessness screwing it up. Understood?”

“Yes, mom,” she sarcastically replied.

“South!”

“I’ll be on my best behavior. And that’s not me joking. I mean that.”

Carolina still didn’t believe her, but she accepted this answer and went back to her seat.

Meanwhile, C.T. shifted nervously in her seat as she was thinking about her talk with Price. The thoughts were derailed when York spoke up. “You doing alright, Connie?”

“C.T.!” she said. “And I’m fine, York.” Carolina sat between them and C.T. tried to not think about South again. She focused on the mission. Only the mission. Being in action always calmed her down. Even if she wasn’t going to be fighting, she still was a part of the action.

“We’re nearing our first stop,” Niner said as the bay door opened.

“I believe that’s my cue,” Wyoming said as he prepared to jump. “Cheerio.” With that, he stepped out of the Pelican with a jetpack.

“Alright,” Carolina called out. “North, you’re up next?!”

North stood up and walked closer. He prepped his jetpack to jump. “If I don’t make it back from this,” he said, “I’m pretty sure it’s all South’s fault.”

“Do you want me to literally kick you out of this plane?!” South yelled.

“Next stop!” Niner interrupted. And North jumped out and broke into a sprint after his target.

The went to the next drop point to release Wash. “Good luck, Wash,” South said. “You’ll fucking need it.”

Wash sighed as he prepared to drop. “Even the compliments I get are backhanded.”

“To be fair, she kinda does that to everybody,” York noted.

“That doesn’t make me feel better,” he said just before jumping out. Florida’s stop was announced next and he jumping out without a word.

Finally was C.T. She wasn’t too happy about being left for last because it meant spending more time on this ship with South, but at least she had York, Maine, and (especially) Carolina on there with her. Still, she was glad to be off. She prepared her jetpack and got ready for her jump. “You got this, C.T.!” Carolina said.

“Thanks,” she replied. “See you on the other side.” And with that, she jumped and made her way to the guard tower.

 

Aboard the bridge of the _Mother of Invention_ , the Director and the Counselor tracked the movements of the current ground agents. “Director,” Carolina said over the radio, “awaiting your signal. Over.”

“Agents are moving in on the compound,” he replied. “Standby. Over.”

“Copy that. Over and out.”

“This does seem like a reckless strategy,” Price commented.

“Well, I suggest you keep your mouth shut and let this proceed as planned, Counselor,” the Director replied. “If you had a better idea, you probably should have disclosed that earlier.”

“My apologies.” Price backed off and allowed the director to work.

 

Wash got to the tower and began climbing. He kept watching to make sure he was still under the cover of darkness. _I can do this_ , he thought. _It’s not too bad._ He got to the top and waited at the door. He prepared a lock-picking mechanism and made sure it was functional. _Alright, that should do it._ He then turned on his relay signal to contact the ship. Untraceable by anyone other than Project Freelancer.

 

After receiving signals from Wyoming and North, the Director received Wash’s beacon. Soon, Florida and C.T. sent theirs as well. “Agent Carolina,” he called, “All agents are in position to infiltrate. They will go on your mark. Over.”

 

Back on the Pelican, Carolina received the message. “Copy that. Over and out.”

South spoke up. “So, are we any closer to doing anything other than sitting here?”

Carolina ignored her. “Tower agents, please confirm you are ready to infiltrate. Wyoming.”

“Ready to go, love.”

“North.”

“I’m clear.”

“Wash.”

“Good to go.”

“Florida.”

“Right as rain.”

“C.T.”

“I’m good.”

“Excellent. No one move without my signal. Get ready.” She waited. “And…Now.” With that, they all broke in at once.”

Wash kicked the door open and aimed his gun at the guard. “Do not move! Don’t make a sound.” The guard did as he was told. Wash walked closer. “Don’t turn around and put the gun on the ground. No funny business.”

He followed the order, but not before saying, “Well, all that rhyming was pretty funny.”

“What did I say about making a sound?” Wash pulled a knife on him and held it to his neck.

“Look, I’m sorry! I just –“ That was all he could say before getting his throat slit.

Wyoming opened the door and rushed to the guard and cut his neck. “Sorry, chum. It’s strictly business.” He took the sniper and the post.

North did the same, but C.T.’s guard put up a fight. He almost got to his radio, but C.T. got to him and snapped his neck.

All of them radioed Carolina to confirm they had made it. All except Florida. “Florida, please respond!” Nothing. “Have we been found out?”

“Negative,” Wyoming responded. “All is quiet.”

“Does anyone have a visual on his tower?”

“I think I got him,” Wash said as he looked at Florida’s tower. He zoomed in. “I got him. He’s… Oh, you’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.”

“What’s he doing?”

“It looks like he’s… talking… to the guard.”

“Are you serious?”

“I shit you not.”

Florida continued talking to the guard, who had laid his weapon to the side. “While I do prefer tulips,” he said, “you can’t really beat the look of the water lily.”

“Yeah, you’ve actually got a point,” the guard said. “Thanks for the recommendation.”

“You’re quite welcome. I’m sure your daughter would love those.”

“Yeah, well, she’s growing up real fast so you’ve gotta savor those moments.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

Then the guard finally wised up. “Wait a minute… You don’t work here.”

“Amazing,” he said without changing his tone. “I’m surprised it took this long to figure out.” Without hesitation, Florida slit the man’s throat and took his rifle. “This is Agent Florida. I am currently in position.”

“What took so long?” Carolina asked.

“I was discussing what flowers to use for the guard’s daughter’s bedroom. She seems like a nice girl. Too bad she won’t ever see her father again.” He spoke as if this didn’t affect him in the slightest. Everyone was simply silent.

“Alright then… Niner, get us in position.”

As the ship moved in, York said, “You know, it’s moments like that that really creeps me out about Florida.”

“Talking about flowers?” South incorrectly assumed. “Yeah, that creeps me out, too.”

The ship hovered over the compound and they prepared their cloaking devices. “Remember,” Carolina said, “these cloaking devices are only cleared for short use. We use them only long enough to get to the roof. After that, only use sparingly in case of a dire situation.”

“Got it,” they all said.

“Ready…And…Go!” They turned on their cloaking and safely fell to the compound when they were close enough, they turned on the jetpacks and safely landed. As she turned the cloaking off, she went to York as he already went to crack the holographic lock. “Things looking good over here?”

“Absolutely,” he responded. “This lock is almost embarrassingly easy. They really should be ashamed of themselves.”

“Just get us in quickly. Sigma.”

“Yes, Carolina?” he responded.

“Send the three paths we needed to take to get to the database to everyone else.”

“With pleasure.”

“Three?” York asked as the door opened.

“We need to split up to help increase our stealth. Motion trackers on at all times. That means you, South.” South grumbled as she was singled out. She turned the tracker on regardless. “Also, you will be escorting York to the database. Maine and I will be going in our own paths and we’ll meet you there.”

“Well, this oughta be fun.”

South punched him in the shoulder. “Can it, York.”

“South,” Carolina sternly replied. South backed off. Carolina then spoke to all of them. “Stick to Sigma’s paths and only use cloaking sparingly.” All of them nodded as they entered.

 

South and York were the first to get to the database server entrance. “Watch my back, South.” York started unlocking the door and it took some time. Longer than South was willing to wait. She started to grow impatient.

“Hurry up, York. How long is it gonna take?”

“Don’t rush me, South. It takes time.”

“Well, we don’t have that much time, so hurry the hell up.”

The door opened just as Carolina reached them. “Just in time,” she said.

“Impeccable timing,” York joked.

All three of them went into the servers. “Maine, we’re in. Get here ASAP.”

“Delta,” York said. His A.I. assistant showed itself. “I need you to show me which one of these servers can get us directly into the database.”

“I will let you know that you are very close,” the program told him. “I have highlighted it on your HUD.”

“Perfect. Ladies, you guys stand guard and I’ll let Delta take care of the database.” York went to the highlighted server. He inserted the hard drive into the database. “Alright, D. Do your thing.”

Delta transferred himself into the drive. “I will warn you that this may take some time to infiltrate the firewall without being seen. Once I am in, the transfer will be quick.”

“Just get it done.”

Just as Maine got to the server room, C.T. came on the radio. “Guys, We’ve got a problem. Someone’s coming in on the east side. They might be intercepting your position. ETA: about 2 minutes.”

“Motherfucker,” South exclaimed. “Can’t that thing work any faster?”

“South,” Carolina replied, “we can make it. Just be patient.”

“Estimated time should be 30 seconds before the infiltrators would get close.”

“That’s not gonna be enough,” South said. She ran over to the server. “Program bypass firewall in the fastest way possible.”

“That would be inadvisable. A direct breach would –“

“Program override. Acknowledge last directive.”

“Acknowledged.”

“What are you doing?” York yelled.

“Getting things done faster.”

“File transfer initiated,” Delta said.

“See?”

The alarms suddenly went off moments later. “File transfer complete. Warning! Alarms triggered!”

“How the hell did that happen?!” South asked?

“The direct breach of the firewall triggered the alarm. This is what I was about to warn Agent South Dakota about.”

“Son of a bitch!” Carolina exclaimed. She turned to York. “Grab the drive and run!”

Stealth was abandoned, and they rushed to the roof. “Watchtowers! Niner! Get to the roof ASAP!”

“I’ll get shot out of the air,” 479-er replied.

“We took out the snipers! Get to the roof!” Maine was able to fight off most of the guards heading near them on their way to the roof, but the rest of the group took out whoever was left. South and Maine preferred more brutal methods of incapacitating the victim, but they had to make things quick. It still didn’t stop South from being rather brutal.

Everyone else had made it and boarded the Pelican immediately. “Where’s Carolina’s team?” Wash yelled. As soon as he asked, they were on their way to get to the extraction point.

“Hang on to something, everybody!” 479-er shouted, “We’re gonna need to go quick!” And she wasn’t kidding. The Bay doors weren’t even closed before the ship was lifting off and away from the compound. All the Freelancers rushed to grab any fixed structure they could.

The bay door closed, and the Pelican rushed out of range of the compound. After that, the Pelican slowed and prepared to head to the Mother of Invention. It allowed everyone to get some better footing. “Thank God,” North exclaimed. “I thought we were goners for a minute there.”

“Well,” York started, “the good news is that we’ve got the files.”

“All thanks to my quick thinking,” South said.

Carolina was so enraged that she punched South in the face. (Well… the helmet technically.) “Thanks to you, the entire mission was almost jeopardized!”

“We made it out! Didn’t we?!”

“Actually,” Delta said, “if you had not insisted on going for a direct breach, we would have had thirty extra seconds to escape. As you can see, those thirty seconds would have been quite valuable.”

“Oh, what does that thing know anyway?!”

“A hell of a lot more than you ever will!”

In a flash of anger, South tackled Carolina and started to choke her. Thankfully, Carolina was able to fight her off and pin her to the ground.

“Ladies, this is your captain speaking,” Niner intervened. “As interesting as a fight between you two would be, I need to warn you that you’ll all need to strap in soon.”

Everyone else strapped in immediately, but South and Carolina stared each other down before taking their seats.

“I hate you so much,” South said to Carolina.

“The feeling is mutual,” Carolina replied. “And I’m pretty sure the Director is going to have a few choice words with you.”

“Ugh! This is so stupid!”

“No, stupid is when you try barge in on something you know nothing about and act like you know everything. Stupid is ignoring experts and nearly ruining everything because you’re being an impatient brat!”

“Would you stop treating me like a fucking kid?!”

“THEN STOP FUCKING ACTING LIKE ONE!”

South really had nothing else to say. She was still fuming, but she sat back in silence for the rest of the ride. C.T. saw South’s rage and knew exactly what was coming later. And it terrified her. _Not again…_

* * *

The Pelican landed in the loading bay with the Director waiting nearby. To say he wasn’t happy was an understatement. As soon as the bay door opened, and the ramp declined, he boarded the ship and glared at everyone. Slowly walking to the front. “Agents Carolina and South Dakota remain on board. The rest of you are free to go. We will debrief later.”

“Yes, sir,” all agents except Carolina and South said before exiting the ship.

The Director glared at the two women as they wondered what was coming next. “Do you know why you were on this mission in the first place, South?” She shook her head. “In all honesty, I thought you were too volatile to be on it, but your colleague Carolina vouched for you. Said you could control yourself. And boy, was I furious to be proven right.”

“Sir,” Carolina said, “I can explain.”

“I did not ask you to speak! Did I?!” Carolina immediately backed down and the Director went back to South. “If not for the fact that the mission was _barely_ a success, you would be eliminated from this organization the moment you got back. But since that is not the case, I will have you report to Counselor Price for a psychiatric evaluation immediately. So, congratulations. You got yourself a session with ‘that creepy shrink after all.’ Enjoy.”

South left without another word, but she glared at Carolina before she did. “As for you, Carolina,” he continued. “I am rather disappointed in you. You promised me results and you did not deliver. Luckily for you, you will not be penalized for your teammate’s actions. But I will not forget this incident.” With that, the Director left Carolina alone. She was devastated to know that she failed him. And she didn’t know what to do now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will most likely be put out after Christmas, but that will include some sexy stuff to make up for the drama that'll happen soon. And on that note, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!


	4. Exposure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> York helps Carolina unwind and South gets her mandatory psych evaluation. But C.T. dreads what will happen to her now that South’s rage is growing again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter that will have the Yorklina sex scene. If you want to skip over it, it starts at the triple asterisk (***) and ends with the triple dashes (---). Also, there will be a bit of drama at the end of the chapter. Apologies for that. But at least you can get a sex scene in addition to it. (Maybe not a well-written one depending on my abilities, but you get one.)

South sat in front of Price, extremely annoyed that she had to be there at all. She just wanted to punch something until she broke it completely. But no. She had to undergo a mandatory psych evaluation because she was deemed to potentially be too unstable.

Price began to take notes as he observed South, who had her arms crossed and wore a prominent scowl. “So,” he began in his usual monotone voice, “shall we begin, Agent South Dakota?”

“Pfft. Whatever,” she muttered.

“Agent South, it would go much smoother if you cooperated and actively participated in the process.” All she did was scoff. “This will help to determine whether or not you’ll be fit to go into missions in the future. If you wish to be out on the field again, I suggest you go along with it and help me understand your condition.”

She couldn’t argue with that. “I just wanna let you know that this is complete bullshit.”

“Duly noted,” he said, his tone unchanged. “Before we move on, would you mind if I were to refer to you by your civilian name?”

“I very much would mind.”

“Very well then. So, South… can you tell me what makes you angry?”

“A lot of shit. For one, this stupid interview process that you’re putting me through.”

“Agent South, please take this seriously. This is important to determine your readiness for returning to fired duty.”

“What do you want me to say, man?! I just get angry! Sometimes, I just can’t control myself. But it’s not like it’s that big of a deal.”

Price simply stared at her. “Well in addition to those anger issues, it appears that you also have a blatant disregard for authority, disregard for the thoughts and opinions of others, impulsiveness and recklessness among a host of other symptoms.”

“What’s the deal, huh? Did you just drag me in here to say that I’m crazy? Is that it?”

“I am merely listing some observed traits of your behavior. These are objective facts based on observations.”

“Well, you know what? You can take your objective facts and shove ‘em up your ass!”

Price was still not fazed. Nothing seemed to shake this man. "South, this is merely an evaluation. I'm only asking you to explain yourself. There is no need to feel like you're being judged."

"Would you stop talking to me like I'm some sort of problem-child?!"

"I only aim to understand you, South. I need to know if you are ready to go back into the field or what to do in order to help you get to that point."

"I bet you Carolina doesn't have to deal with this crap," she muttered.

"It was not Agent Carolina's decision that caused the mission to nearly fail."

"No, but it was apparently her decision to get me there in the first place! I bet you the Director didn't tell you that!"

"We had discussed the decision, but yes. She was indeed adamant in bringing you on, insisting you would be ready."

"Exactly! So why the fuck am I sitting through this stupid therapy crap? If not for her, there wouldn't be a problem!"

"I'm sure the Director has discussed her part in this, but she is not the one with behavioral issues that need to be worked on."

"Let me guess, the teacher's pet got a 'stern-talking-to' and a slap on the wrist, right?!"

"South, please. There is absolutely no need for anger."

"No! You know what?! Fuck you, fuck Carolina, fuck the Director, and fuck all of this! I am not the problem here." She leaves in a huff and Price doesn’t attempt to stop her. _She certainly isn’t helping her case_ , he thought.

* * *

C.T. went straight to her room and locked herself in. She removed every last bit of armor on her body and she was left in her compression suit as she sat on the bed. She brought her knees up to her chin and panicked. She knew South was coming. She knew that South would want to blow off some steam. And she feared that she’d be her stress-ball this time.

As these thoughts raced through her head, she stared at the room around her. A room that was bringing her nothing but panic. All she could think about was South possibly coming in and raping her again. She wasn’t even feeling safe in it anymore. C.T. started hyperventilating as she started to panic. _She’s on her way right now! I know it! She’s coming for me!_

Then she heard the knocking. Every part of her body stiffened from fear as she heard. _This is it_ , she thought. _This is it. She’s coming for me._ The knocking continued. She couldn’t bring herself to open the door. She would rather wait for South to pry it open than let her in. Then she heard a male voice. Wash’s voice. “C.T.? Are you in there?”

Her body started to relax as she slowly stood up and walked to the door. She opened it to see the fully-armored Washington. “Hey, C.T…” His thoughts stopped there when he saw her red puffy eyes from crying as her body shook with nervousness or outright fear. “Are you… feeling okay.”

She didn’t have the energy to lie. She simply said, “No… no, I’m not.” She shoved him out of the way and rushed for the showers. She couldn’t take this. She just wanted to wash the pain away.

* * *

Carolina sat in her room, looking down at her feet. She was only in her compression suit with her armor to the side. She couldn’t believe she had nearly failed because of South. She was angry alright. She wasn’t sure what to think of what happened. The Director trusted her to get results and all that happened was his initial suspicions were proven right.

She heard a knock on the door. She opened it to find York in a yellow T-shirt and black sweatpants. “Hey there, Carolina.” She said nothing. “Mind if I come in?”

After a moment of silence, she sighed and allowed him into her quarters. “Knock yourself out.”

York entered and sat on her bed. Carolina sat right next to him. “So… that mission was pretty crazy, right?” She said nothing. “You know, I almost thought we were goners, but you pulled us through.” Still, nothing as she stared blankly at the wall. York’s smirk was soon replaced with a frown. “Come on, Lina. Talk to me. I know something’s bothering you, so just say it.”

And talk she did. “I don’t know what to do about South. It’s like there’s no way to get through to her. She’s just…”

“Nothing more than a massive, defiant bitch?” he added. “Yeah, I picked up on that.”

“I thought you said you didn’t want to be that couple that finishes each other’s sentences.”

 “Well, I have my moments,”  he said with a chuckle.Carolina smirked. “There it is. There’s that smile I’ve been looking for.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Carolina sighed and leaned back on her elbows. “Honestly, I just need to do something to get rid of this problem.”

“Well… I don’t know how to fix your problem, but I might be able to help you take your mind off things.”

“Is this your way of asking me for sex?”

“Hey, I’m not just doing this for me. You could use something that will take some of that tension off. Even if for a little bit.”

She thought about it. She did want to just forget about South and her excessive anger issues. It wouldn’t be too bad of an idea.

“If you don’t want to, that’s fine. I’ll just leave right now.”

She smirked and pulled him down by his arm. Carolina then straddled him and said, “Just shut up and kiss me.”

York’s smile grew as well. “With pleasure.”

Their lips met and she wrapped her hands around his neck as he began to peel off the compression suit for her. She finished pulling off the top half to reveal a teal sports bra and her well-defined abdomen. “Now there are those abs that I love so much.”

***

Carolina laughed as she pulled off York’s shirt to reveal his muscular figure. Not as prominent as hers, but it was there. She pushed him down on the bed as she kissed all the way down his chest. She pulled down his pants and started slowly sucking him off. His erection grew within seconds. “Didn’t take you long,” she said with a smirk.

“Forgive me if I find a beautiful woman sucking my dick to be arousing.”

“Well then…” She pushed him back onto the bed and climbed forward. “Let’s hope you can get me off just as easily.”

“Is that a challenge?”

She pulled off the rest of her suit and spread her legs. Lowering her crotch over her face. “More like an order. Get started, Agent York.”

York smiled. “Yes, ma’am.” He spread her legs further apart and started licking her folds slowly and carefully. He squeezed her ass as he circled her clit, making her bit her lip. Even with Carolina sitting on his face, he still managed to get a smirk in. Carolina fondled her breasts as she felt herself getting wetter by the second. “So, I guess I’m not the only one who’s easily aroused.”

“Fuck you,” she said while laughing.

“I thought that’s what we were doing.” Carolina rolled her eyes. “Come on. You gotta admit that you walked right into that one.”

“Yeah, I did.” She got off of his face and sat on the bed.

“So, what are your next orders, Agent Carolina?”

“How about you bend me over this bed and fuck me senseless.”

“Oh, with pleasure.” York pulled Carolina to the edge of the bed and flipped her over onto her stomach. He spread her legs apart and inserted himself inside. Carolina let out a low moan as she felt his member penetrate her. His thrusts started slowly, but forcefully. He gripped her muscular thighs as she gripped the sheets.

“Harder,” she moaned, agonized over him going so slow.”

“Hold on, Lina. I like to tease a little bit first.”

“You asshole.”

“Just give it time. You can’t rush these things.”

“You do If you want me to cum.”

“Well, why didn’t you say so?”

She laughed. “Shut u- OH FUCK!” She moaned louder as he went much faster. “Yes…” Her breathing became more ragged as she got closer to orgasm. York then flipped Carolina over onto her back. “Didn’t like that position?”

“Well, as much as I like your ass –“

“The squats help.”

“- I like seeing the face you make when you cum,” he said as he penetrated her. She let out a low moan in response. “Plus… it makes it easier to do this.” He kissed her as he started his thrusts again. Going even faster.

As he broke the kiss off, she breathlessly said, “Well, aren’t you the romantic.” Her breathing grew heavier as York kissed her neck. As her orgasm built up, she wrapped her arms tightly around him. “Fuck… I’m gonna cum…” She bit her lip as she held back her moans. “York… please…”

As York went faster, Carolina’s moans became louder. She called his name as she was close to coming. “York!” Her eyes rolled back as she moaned loudly. Her toes curled as she came and she held York tightly.

York slowed down as she came down from the orgasm. “I hope nobody heard that,” he joked. They both laughed “Having fun, Carolina?”

“Yeah…” She then wrapped her legs around his waist and flipped them over so she was on top. “But I’m not quite done yet.”

“That’s my girl.” Carolina undid her ponytail as she rode York. She held his face and kissed him deeply. He kissed her neck and her breasts tenderly, making he breath hitch at every touch of his lips. York felt himself reaching his peak as Carolina rode faster. “Carolina…”

She embraced him as she got closer to her second orgasm. He grabbed her ass as she started moaning louder. She was loving this. Every sensation brought her even more pleasure. Soon, York was about to get close to coming as well. Soon she couldn’t help but moan his name as she came again.

Out of breath, she asked, “Did you cum yet?”

“No.”

“… Do you want to?”

“What the hell kind of question is that?”

“I’m messing with you, York,” she said as she smiled. She got down and started sucking him off, making him moan even more.

“Fuck, Carolina…” his hands raked through her flowing red hair. “I’m gonna cum…” With a loud groan, he shot his load into her mouth. She swallowed every last drop. “You are surprisingly good at that.”

“Well, I’m a fast learner.” Carolina climbed up to the bed to lay next to York as he fell on his back.

\---

Carolina and York laid naked next to each other, sweaty and out of breath. “Well…” Carolina began, “that was… amazing.”

“Agreed,” York replied. “Feeling better?”

“A lot better. Thank you, York.”

“The pleasure is all mine.”

“You know… it might be a good idea to take a shower.”

“Fair point. Because you smell awful.”

Carolina playfully punched him in the shoulder and laughed. “You’re no better.”

“Says the girl with my cum in her mouth,” he remarked as he got up and put his pants on.

“And you have my pussy juice in yours. You have no right to talk.”

“Then I guess it’s not gonna be a problem if we do this.” He leaned down and kissed her passionately. Carolina kissed back with the same passion. After breaking off the kiss, he said, “There. Now we’re completely even.”

“How generous.” She smiled as he grabbed his shirt.

“Same time next week?”

She thought about it. “We’ll see.”

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes.’” Carolina chuckled as he left. She grabbed some old clothes and made her way to the locker room.

* * *

 C.T. stood under the shower, motionless, silent, staring at her feet. She didn’t know how long she was there, but she didn’t care. So long as she could forget about South. She just wanted to wash away the pain. Anything that could help. She was glad that she was the only one in there.

“Got room for one more?” Well, it was nice when it lasted. She turned around and saw Carolina walking up behind her. And seeing her naked behind her made C.T.’s heart race. It wasn’t the first time she saw her like this. They were together in these locker rooms often. But it still amazed her.

“Uh… sure. Go ahead,” C.T. replied. She started to scrub herself just to look natural.

Carolina even walked to the shower head next to her. C.T. couldn’t help but take a glance at the woman next to her. The water and suds flowing over the redhead’s well-toned figure. She kind of felt like a perv for looking, but she tried not to focus on it. But then she was reminded why she was there in the first place. Visions of South’s attacks started entering her mind. Suddenly, being thought of as a pervert was much better than the alternative. “Did you have a good workout?”

“Huh…? Oh. Yeah. It was alright. What about you?”

“Pretty good. I had a… workout session with York that went well.”

Carolina’s smile is what gave it away. “You two were fucking, weren’t you?”

She shrugged. “It was technically a workout.” C.T. always knew it was happening, but it still kind of stung to hear.

And she continued to respond abrasively. “Freelancer Agent Carolina. Such a serious and professional agent in the field, but a horny teenager when she’s around some guy she likes.” And yes, she did feel like she was projecting while ogling the naked woman standing next to her.

“Hey, it was just to blow off some steam. Sex helps.”

That’s when she started having flashbacks again. She stood there motionless as the images started flooding her mind. It was happening all over again.

“C.T.!” She snapped out of it when she heard Carolina’s voice again. She was holding her wash rag for her. C.T. assumed she dropped it during her episode. Which meant… _Oh, no…_ “Are you feeling okay?”

C.T. grabbed the rag out of her hands and snapped, “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? You seemed to space out there.”

She was about to respond, but then something truly horrible happened. South walked into the showers. She silently stood under the shower head next to C.T. She knew what South was doing. And all the blonde did was start washing with a grimace on her face. “Carolina,” she muttered.

Carolina simply glared at her and shut off her water. She grabbed her towel and rushed out of the showers. C.T. tried to leave as well, but South grabbed her wrist, pulled her back, and covered her mouth with her hand. “Not so fast, Connie,” South whispered harshly. “You know what’s about to happen. And if you don’t keep quiet, I will break your fucking skull open on this floor.” C.T. started crying and shaking her head. “I’m sure you understand.”

She didn’t think South would do this here. Somewhere they could easily get caught. She thought she was safe outside her room. She didn’t think South would be so impulsive. Clearly, she was wrong. South thought this was all too convenient. As South lowered her hand to fondle C.T.’s breast, all she could do was whimper. “South, please… not here…”

As South moved her hand down to C.T.’s crotch, she smiled. “You know you don’t get a choice, Connie.”

As Carolina started to get dressed, she remembered she forgot her wash rag in the shower. She went back, she saw South and C.T. All she saw was South fondling C.T. She heard some whimpering, but she couldn’t understand why. She made the mistake of instinctively backing off. She didn’t know why someone like C.T. would be with someone like _South Dakota_. She didn’t want to judge C.T. for choosing South, but she knew something was up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have absolutely no idea how the showers would work in an organization like Freelancer. I’m throwing that out there now. Considering the fact that they have a group locker room, I’d assume it’s something like that. Don’t ask me! Don’t quote me on it! I don’t know! Maybe I’ll edit the story once I do figure that out. For now, just go along with the dumb plot device until such a time that I get a better answer and change it.
> 
> And to clear up any confusion, Carolina currently doesn’t know that South is forcing C.T. She just saw the two together and that’s all she knows. That will be cleared up next chapter.


	5. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carolina and Wash try to find out the truth about C.T.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is definitely going to be a turning point chapter. You'll see once you read it.

Carolina was practicing her combat in the training area. Attacking the holographic targets provided by F.I.L.S.S. But she was a bit off today, still thinking about what she saw in the showers. It threw her off, but it didn’t frustrate her like it usually would. As she completed her ninth round, F.I.L.S.S. announced, “Time: 5.46 seconds. 0.23 seconds under your best time.”

 _Damn it._ “Again,” Carolina said as she prepared her battle stance.

“Preparing next round.” The program loaded up more green targets for her to attack. “Begin.” And like that she was at it again at lightning speeds. But she wanted to be better than that. As all the targets became red, F.I.L.L.S. came on again. “Time: 5.17 seconds. New record.”

“Carolina,” Sigma said, “It does seem that something is affecting your performance.”

“What makes you say that?” she replied abrasively.

His hologram shrugged. “Just a hunch. That and your times seem to be very, as you would say, ‘all over the place.’”

“I’m fine,” she plainly replied.

“I’m not convinced.”

“Well, I guess that’s your problem.”

“Actually, this performance issue would possibly affect your time in battle and even be fatal. If I cannot identify it and help you correct it, it would actually be your problem.”

Just as he made his comment, Florida and Maine came in.

“Good afternoon, Carolina,” Florida cheerfully said. “You should hear what Maine suggested. He wants all of us to have a charades night! Doesn’t that sound fun?”

“Charades night?” Carolina sardonically replied. “Really?”

“I’d win,” Maine replied.

“Of course, you would.”

“Anyway,” Florida continued, “the Director approved us for a sparring match and wanted to let you know your time will be up soon.”

“Actually, you guys can have it. I’m done.”

“Gosh! That is so nice of you, Carolina.” Florida put his arm around Maine. “Let’s go, Maine.” The latter growled as he was pulled to the center of the room.

As Carolina walked up to the observation room, Sigma came back online. “This is unlike you to end a training session early.”

“I’ve got a lot on my mind, Sigma. You were right.”

“Might I inquire as to what that is?”

“No,” she said bluntly as she entered the observation room where North and Wash were.

“Already finished?” Wash asked. Carolina shrugged. “Hm. I guess you’re taking it easy for today.”

“Carolina taking it easy?” North remarked. “That’s a first.”

Carolina ignored the remarks as she watched Florida and Maine fight.

“Ready when you are,” Florida said as he got into a fighting stance. Maine growled and prepared for his attack. As Florida rushed forward, Maine blocked his unrelentingly brutal attacks. Florida didn’t hold back.

“You know,” North said, “for someone as nice as Florida, he can be surprisingly brutal.”

“Yeah,” Wash replied, “you’d expect it from Maine or South, but not him.”

That’s when Carolina was reminded of what she needed to talk to C.T. about. That’s when she noticed that C.T. hadn’t returned in all this time. Even with what she was doing, she should have arrived by the time Carolina started her training session.

“Has anyone seen C.T.?” she inquired. North shook his head, but Wash looked down at his feet. He remembered what had happened in her quarters earlier. He knew he had to ask if Carolina also knew.

“Hey, can I talk to you, privately?” Carolina turned to Wash. “It’s about C.T.”

Carolina left with Wash. She was surprised that he had something to say about C.T. but if anything, it might help.

After they were alone, Wash asked, “Have you… noticed C.T. acting… sorta strange?”

Not what she was expecting. However… “Come to think of it, yeah I have. We were in the showers earlier and she kinda spaced out.”

“When was that?”

“A few minutes before I got here. Why?”

“Because I saw her in her room a few minutes after we got back. I needed to discuss a potential armor enhancement with her and it looked like she had just been crying.”

“Really?” Carolina was genuinely shocked. This isn’t where she expected this to go at all.

“Yeah. I asked her if she was okay, but all she said was, ‘No, I’m not,’ before shoving me out of the way and rushing out of there.”

Carolina looked away, thinking about this. “Well, that must have been when she went to the showers. But that’s not the only thing I saw.”

“What? What was it?”

“Okay. I know this is gonna sound crazy but… I think she’s hooking up with South.”

“WHAT?!”

Carolina shushed him in response to his outburst. “Keep your voice down.”

“Well, you’re right about one thing. That really does sound crazy. How do you know this?”

“South walked in a few minutes after I did. For obvious reasons, I got out of there as soon as possible but I left something there. When I got back, I saw them… together.”

“Like… together-together?”

“South was holding C.T. and I’m pretty sure she wasn’t helping her wash up.”

“I mean… that could’ve been happening. You don’t know.”

“Wash!” she harshly whispered.

“Okay. Okay. So… South and C.T. are hooking up. Is that it?”

“I mean, I don’t know why she would be with South of all people. I’m just not sure about any of this.”

“What do you plan on doing?”

“I was going to talk to C.T. about it because there’s no way in hell that South would say anything about this.”

“Then we should probably head for the locker room. If she’s not in there, we’ll go back to her room.”

“And if she’s not there?”

“Then we really have our work cut out for us.” Carolina and Wash headed straight for the lockers. They had to find out what was really going on with C.T.

* * *

C.T. sat in the lockers after putting her compression suit on. She just wanted to forget everything. After South was gone, she laid under the water in a puddle of shame for God-know-how-long. She didn’t know what she could do now. She didn’t know where she’d be safe anymore. If South didn’t care where it happened, who knew where she’d attack next?

As she attempted to put on her armor, she heard the doors open and jumped. But she was relieved to find that it was Carolina and Wash. “There you are,” Carolina exclaimed.

“You were looking for me?” replied C.T. She didn’t expect Carolina to be looking for her. She didn’t know why, however.

“Yeah. Wash and I needed to talk to you about something and I’m not sure how to ask this.”

“What?”

Wash blurted out, “Are you sleeping with South?”

Carolina elbowed him in the stomach in response to his outburst. “WASH!”

C.T. started to panic. _How did they know and why would they think…? Oh, fuck…_

Carolina took off her helmet and set it aside. She looked into C.T.’s eyes with concern. “Look… we didn’t want to jump to any conclusions. We just needed to ask. We both noticed you acting strangely.”

Tears started flowing down C.T.’s cheeks. “… You don’t understand.”

“But we want to,” Wash replied. “We just wanna know what’s going on between you two.”

“It’s not like that!”

“C.T.,” Carolina said as she sat with the other woman. “You don’t need to feel ashamed of anything. Just tell us what’s going on.”

“Who did you tell?”

“Only Wash and I know.”

“… How did you… how did you find out?”

“I was going back into the shower to pick up something I left. I saw her with you.”

Now, C.T. was absolutely mortified. Not only did Carolina see her getting molested, but to think that the woman she loved thought she was with South… it hurt more than anything. She couldn’t help but break down and sob uncontrollably.

Carolina and Wash looked at each other, not knowing what to think. “C.T., just tell us why you would choose someone like South.”

“I DIDN’T!”

Both Wash and Carolina were shocked and speechless. Her eyes widened at the outburst. And C.T. was motionless when she heard herself say that. There was no turning back from that. She had admitted that much. She wouldn’t be able to hide anything else from them.

“What are you talking about?” Wash inquired.

 _Well, I can’t hide it. I have to do it._ C.T. wiped some of the tears from her face before she finally tried to explain. “A few months ago… South came into my room. I didn’t know why she was there… but she was still angry as ever. Something the Director might’ve done. I’m assuming. …But she didn’t say anything. She just… stood there and glared at me. When I tried to push her out…” Tears started falling again as she put her hand to her mouth. As if she didn’t want the next part to come out of her mouth.

She continued. “When I tried to get her to leave, she… forced me to my bed and kissed me. I tried… to push her off… but… but she…”

The other two knew exactly what happened next. “She… raped you?” Carolina asked hesitantly when C.T. couldn’t bear to fill in the blank.

All C.T. could do was give a nod. “Whenever she was angry… she’d come in and… use me… and she just left. Not one word after she was… finished…” C.T. just let her sobs free.

“And this has been going on for months?” Wash asked. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“You’ve seen what she’d do! I was scared! I tried to tell Price, but I just… I just couldn’t bring myself to say it.”

“Well, talking to him was your first mistake,” Wash remarked.

“Wash,” Carolina chided, “please. Not now.”

C.T. continued. “I just didn’t know what to do.”

And honestly, Carolina and Wash didn’t know what to do either. This was a lot to take in at once. But they had to be there for her. So Carolina moved closer and hugged her. It was all she could do to give her comfort. A bit caught off guard, C.T. gasped. “I’m sorry,” Carolina whispered.

While C.T. had always hoped Carolina would touch her, she had hoped the circumstances would be better. Still, she accepted the hug and wrapped her arms around the redhead. She needed some stability right now. Safety. Comfort. And being in her arms made her feel safe. She let her tears flow as she remained in her embrace. “Thank you…” C.T. quietly responded.

While she felt sympathy for C.T., she was now feeling another emotion. Rage. Rage for what South did to her. Anger that she was able to go on for so long. As if she needed more reasons to hate South. “…She’ll pay for this. I’ll make her pay.”

“Carolina… please don’t-“

“She needs to suffer for what she did to you!”

“She’ll know I told you!”

“Well, we can’t just wait for her to do it again!” Wash stated. “It’s not like we can stay with you 24/7. We have to stop her.”

“I don’t know what she’ll do.”

Carolina darted up and went straight to the door. “Well, I’m not going to wait here and do nothing.”

“What will you do?” Wash inquired.

“Something I’ve wanted to do for a **long** time.” And with that, Carolina was gone. And both Wash and C.T. were concerned about what she was about to do.

* * *

In the cafeteria, the twins were locked in an arm-wrestling match with the other Freelancers cheering them on.

Wyoming turned to York and remarked, “Well, I guess that betting on South would be the smarter option now, wouldn’t it?”

“Oh, don’t get so cocky now, Wyoming,” York replied. “You never know.”

South was intent on winning this match in return for the match last week. While she was stronger, North still put up a good fight. “You know,” North began, “you could barely beat me in matches when we were kids. What makes you think you’ll win now?”

“I don’t know,” South answered. “Maybe the fact that you’re trying your hardest, and I’m barely trying.” And just like that, South slowly pushed North’s hand to the table, winning the match. North was a little peeved that he didn’t win, but he was still a good sport.

Carolina saw the match from the hall, but she was about to ruin South’s fun. She wouldn’t let her get away with what she did.

North got up from the other side of the table as Florida announced, “Alright, everybody! That was a fun match. Now, who here would like to be the next competitor to try to take down our reigning champion?”

Carolina took no time at all in sitting on the other side of the table and putting her arm up. Her face was dead serious. “Oh, look. Lina’s wants to take me down,” South mocked. “Still sore about the mission?”

“Just fucking start, South,” she replied. Nothing in her demeanor.

As South took her hand with a smirk, Florida came up and did his job as a referee. “Now, I want a clean game, ladies. And remember, no matter who wins and who loses, everyone’s a winner.”

“Would you cut the crap, Florida?” South responded with annoyance.

“Just wanted to make sure everyone has fun.” His demeanor was never affected by the abrasive remark.

“Now this is exciting,” York said. “You know what, I’m putting fifty down on Lina. What do you say to that, Wyoming.”

He responded, “I’ll just put a hundred down. Just out of spite, honestly.”

“Oh, you’re gonna regret that.” He smiled as she was about to watch Carolina arm-wrestle South. But Carolina was unaffected by everyone else around her. She had her glare dead set on South.

“Now,” Florida continued. “on the count of three. One… Two… Three!”

They were at it in an instant. They seemed deadlocked, but South tried to push Carolina’s arm down. She smirked at her presumptive victory, but Carolina’s expression was still unchanged. Something that confused South, especially when Carolina pushed back and moved her hand to the other side seemingly effortlessly. And as the back of South’s hand hit the table, York cheered for her and took Wyoming’s money without a second thought, leaving him flabbergasted.

York congratulated Carolina. “Awesome work as always. And thank you for getting me a hundred dollars richer.”

Carolina ignored him. As South tried to get up, Carolina kept her hand in a vice-like grip. Refusing to let go. “Dude,” South complained, “this isn’t funny. Let go.” That’s when Carolina pulled South in and punched her in the face with her other hand. Almost in an instant. Everyone was shocked. South held her face in pain. “What the fuck, Carolina!”

The redhead reached across the table and pulled South over and punched her in the face, not bothering to hold back. To counter, South kicked her in the stomach before grabbing her by the neck and slamming her against a wall. South punched her once, but Carolina made sure it was only once before kneeing her in the gut and slamming her into the table hard enough to crack it. All Wyoming said was, “Well, things just got a lot more interesting.”

North was livid about the attack on his sister. “What is wrong with you?!” he shouted as he held South away.

“Yeah, what has gotten into you?” York also asked. Both women were still seething with anger.

“You know what you did,” Carolina coldly said to South.

“What are you talking about?!” she asked. “If this is about that mission – “

“It isn’t.”

“Then what is your goddamn problem?!”

“Carolina, wait!” She heard Wash from down the hall. She saw him running up with C.T. and they were both mortified by what they saw.

Unfortunately, South saw them two. She looked right at C.T. and realized why Carolina was doing this. C.T. saw the white-hot rage flaring up in South’s eyes. “You FUCKING BITCH!” South tried to attack her, but Carolina lunged forward and pinned her down. “GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME! I WILL FUCKING KILL HER!”

“Not before,” Carolina said, “I kill YOU!” She forced South to the floor and kicked her in the face. As she tried to stomp on her face, South grabbed Carolina’s foot and pulled her to the ground. She stepped on her chest as she tried to attack C.T.

Wash tried to protect C.T. from South. “Get behind me!”

“Get out of my way, Wash!” South screamed as she grabbed his neck and threw him to the side. “I’ll fucking kill you, Connie!” Before she could attack, Carolina got behind South and put her in a chokehold. She slammed her face into the table started punching her again. South got one punch in, but Carolina twisted her wrist and kicked her into the table. Knocking both South and the table two meters away.

As Carolina glared at South on the ground, North helped her up. “South, are you okay?”

“Let go!” She shouted as she punched him in the nose. “Connie, you’re fucking DEAD!” As she moved forward, Maine stepped in the way and pushed her back while gripping her fists. “MOVE!” She kicked him in the chest, but he did not budge. Her eyes widened when it didn’t work. He growled and punched her in the chest hard enough to send her flying into a wall, leaving a person-shaped dent in it.

Wyoming chuckled at the sight. “Well, this turned out better than I expected.”

North picked her up and carried her away. “Alright, that’s enough!” he said.

“Spoilsport.”

As North carried her away as she limped, he glared at Carolina. Her face was bloodied, and she was still seething with anger as she glared at Carolina and C.T. she left. “You better watch your back, South,” Carolina remarked.

That set off South and she pulled her gun on her. “YOU KNOW WHAT?! WHY DON’T I JUST BLOW YOUR FUCKING BRAINS OUT RIGHT NOW!” Carolina didn’t even flinch as she stared down the barrel of South’s gun.

“I wouldn’t recommend that, Agent South Dakota.” Her eyes widened as she turned around and saw the Director and Price walking in. “You pull that trigger and I guarantee you that I will make your life a living hell.”

North took the gun away from her and South froze. “You saw…”

“Every. Last. Thing. Agent Maine, I’ll discuss the damage to the wall later.” Maine turned to the damage to the wall. The Director glared all of them. “You’re coming with me, South Dakota… and Carolina.”

As South grumbled as she was being taken away, Carolina simply walked forward. C.T. grabbed her shoulder. “Carolina, wait!”

“Tell them,” she replied.

“W- what do you mean?”

“Tell them everything.”

“It won’t get you out of trouble! The Director –“

“Not for me.” C.T. froze. “I knew this would happen. Don’t do it for me. Do it for yourself.”

“Carolina!” the Director called.

“I’ll tell the Director. He won’t mention this to anyone and you’ll be safe. You only tell them if you want them to know the truth. The choice is yours, C.T.” She moved her hand from her shoulder and walked away with the Director and South. “I’ve already made mine.”

And with that, the four left the cafeteria as the other Freelancers watched, completely in shock of what happened.

All except for Florida. “Well, I can certainly say this was an eventful evening,” he noted in his usual cheerful manner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone who was waiting for South to get what was coming to her, I hope this chapter satisfied you enough. But, yes. Carolina isn't exactly off the hook either and she knows it. Everything will be explained in the next chapter, but I do want to take a bit of break and work on some other projects for the time being.


	6. Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carolina and South are disciplined by the Director for their behavior.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year, everyone! Hopefully, 2018 is prosperous for you guys. Anyways, enjoy this new chapter of the fic.

Carolina and South stood in the bridge waiting for the Director to return. Carolina had some bandages on her face and bruises, but that didn’t compare to what she did to South. She even needed stitches for what happened to her. Suffice to say, South was not pleased. She glared at Carolina and she was going to make her and C.T. suffer for it. Carolina stood forward, unaffected by South’s resent. She knew she was glaring at her. And she didn’t care. Carolina wasn’t going to let her get away with this.

The door to the bridge opened and in walked the Director and Price. South turned back to look at them, but Carolina had not moved an inch. South didn’t know why she could be so calm. As the Director walked in front of them, he gave them a cold glare as he adjusted his glasses. “You ladies have no idea what kind of trouble you are in,” he said. “An unprovoked attack on a fellow team member? Carolina, you have a lot of explaining to do.”

“You’re damn right,” South griped.

“You are not off the hook either, Agent South Dakota! She may have attacked you, but you attacked **several** of your team members and threatened to murder one of them! You have no room to speak right now!” South simply put her head down as he turned to Carolina once again. “Agent Carolina, do you have anything to say for yourself?”

“Yes, sir. I do,” she replied in a professional tone.

“Please explain then.”

“For the last few months, Agent South has been sexually abusing Agent Connecticut. One of the many things she has done because of her rage issues. Agent Connecticut admitted this much to myself and Agent Washington earlier today.”

“She’s lying, sir,” South interjected.

“Quiet!” he barked at South. She immediately shut her mouth. He then turned back to Carolina. “So, this attack from earlier was your form of retaliation against unfounded allegations based only on Connecticut’s word alone? I would say that’s a rather reckless. As serious as such an offense is, any actual retaliation must not be based on hearsay.”

“It isn’t unfounded, sir. Agent Washington and I had observed some behaviors in Agent Connecticut that we took under suspicion of something going on with her. We realized too late that they were trauma-related symptoms.”

South scoffed. “Oh, please. That’s the best you’ve got?”

“I would agree,” the Director replied. “Carolina, I would’ve expected a better defense than that.”

“That’s not all,” she continued. “Earlier today, I had personally witnessed Agent South sexually assaulting Agent Connecticut.”

“Bullshit!” South yelled.

“Though I mistook it for a consensual encounter at the time,” she continued while ignoring South, “Connecticut personally corrected me and confirmed that it was forced.”

“Come on! You left the showers as soon as I got there! How would you know what happened?”

“I went back for something I left in there and saw the two of you.”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure I would’ve noticed you in there. Nothing even happened.” South then turned to the Director. “Sir, this is absurd. She’s just trying to come up with some ridiculous excuse for attacking me. Why are you even giving her the time of day to explain this crap?”

“Agent South?” Price asked. She turned to him. “If this allegation is false… then how did you know Agent Carolina meant she saw you in the showers?”

South looked at him with confusion. “What are you talking about? She said she saw us in the showers.”

“Actually, she never mentioned where the alleged assault took place. Only that she witnessed it.”

South’s eyes widened, she knew she was busted as she turns back to the Director. “That is an excellent inquiry, Counselor. Agent South, would you care to explain?”

South was speechless. She didn’t know what to say. She then turned to Carolina and saw something that infuriated her. She saw Carolina wearing a confident smirk as she looked at South failing to defend herself. Checkmate. She played right into her hands.

Carolina continued as she turned back to the Director. “I should also let you know that Connecticut stated that she had attempted to discuss this incident with Counselor Price, but she rescinded for fear of retaliation from South as a result.”

The Director looked at Price. “Is this true, Counselor?”

“Well,” he began, “she did come to my office earlier in the week and mentioned that she was sexually assaulted from before her time in Project Freelancer. However, I did have my suspicions considering the haste the had in mentioning that it was not anyone from this program. Intuition mostly, but with the recent claims, I find it difficult to say that Carolina’s accusation is false with all things considered.”

“Actually, Counselor, I’d say it’s quite damning.” Once again, South was furious. _This can’t be fucking happening_ , she thought. “However,” he continued as he then turned to Carolina, “if this really has been going on for months, then why am I just now hearing it from you Agent Carolina and not from Agent Connecticut?”

“Like I said, sir” she replied in her still professional tone, “she feared retaliation from Agent South. You saw her behavior towards Connecticut a few minutes ago. She had figured out we told her and lost control as you could see. While I admit to provocation, she seemed only slightly annoyed before finding out that I knew. Well, ‘slightly annoyed’ by Agent South’s standards.” South clenched her fists at that comment.

The Director looked to South. “Well… it seems that you have dug your own grave. Your punishment was going to be relatively mild but if this all is true, then you are in much deeper trouble than you realize, **Sasha**.”

She was livid to hear him call her that name. She had wanted to leave that name behind when she joined Freelancer. She hated getting called by that name. And he knew that. He was just trying to rub it in. “Don’t. Fucking. Call me that.”

“Or else what?” She couldn’t say anything. She simply looked to the side, defeated. “That’s what I thought. So, you will wait, and we will discuss your punishment momentarily.” She could barely keep a lid on her white-hot anger, which could still be seen on her face and through her clenched fists.

The Director then turned to Carolina. “Carolina, I do appreciate you giving me the information about Sasha’s behavior. But no matter what her offense was, you still initiated what was an unprovoked attack on a teammate. And since we are,” he side-eyed South before saying, “supposed to be civilized, I cannot excuse such behavior simply because you believed the victim of the said attack was also guilty. Regardless of her guilt currently being confirmed. So, you are officially suspended from missions for one month except in the case of dire emergencies. Effective immediately, no questions asked. Are we clear?”

“Yes, sir,” she replied in her professional tone.

“You seem awfully compliant right now, Agent Carolina. Why is that?”

“Permission to speak completely honestly, sir?”

The Director mulled over this for a second. He knew that she had to be displeased with something, but he still responded by saying, “Permission granted.”

Carolina took a breath before confessing. And here is where her professional demeanor started to break. “I think it’s complete bullshit that I have to be punished along with Agent South after what she did. I think she deserved much worse than what I did to her in that cafeteria. And probably much worse than you will give her in the long run. And I know my actions were technically out of line. I knew I was breaking rules and I knew I would be punished. But I made my choice to help a fellow teammate. So, if what I did helps Connecticut feel safer on this ship and it gets some justice for the torture that South put her through, then it would be fucking worth any punishment you could give for my behavior.”

At that, the Director smirked. “Well, how very noble of you Agent Carolina. Even when breaking the rules, you still uphold yourself to be a model soldier, acting with honor.”

“Thank you, sir.”

South scoffed and muttered, “Kiss-ass.”

“As for you, Sasha,” the Director shouted, “Your current punishment will be a three-month suspension from missions as well as mandatory behavioral correction for your little outburst and threats on your fellow agents. And that’s your minimum punishment. We will discuss the extent of your sexual misconduct with Agent Connecticut. From there, we will determine your punishment. And let me tell you, Sasha, it does not look good.”

South growled before yelling, “Can you at least not use that goddamn name?!”

“Considering all that we’ve seen earlier and what I’ve learned in the past few minutes, you have forfeited your right to complain about it. In fact, I’m almost considering allowing Carolina to finish what she started now that we know her motivation behind it is valid.” South gritted her teeth as the Director glared at her. “That is all. You two are dismissed.”

“Yes, sir,” Carolina responded before leaving.

South took longer to comply bus she begrudgingly said, “Yes, sir,” as she left as well.

 

As the two went down the hall, South caught up with Carolina. “You set me up!”

“Maybe I did,” Carolina calmly replied.

“Don’t play fucking coy with me, Lina!”

“If you’re angry about me exposing you for something you shouldn’t have ever been doing in the first place, you really need to reevaluate your morals.”

“I just did it to stay calm. You all complain about my rage all the time, so what’s wrong with blowing off a little steam? I’m pretty sure you and York have done that a lot.”

Carolina punched her in the jaw once more. “Number one, if you really wanted to stay calm, try doing yoga, knitting, getting a goddamn stress ball for fuck sake! Not raping one of your teammates! Number two, don’t you dare compare what York and I do consensually to what you forced on C.T.!”

As she held her jaw, South stood up. “Didn’t know you were so sensitive about your fuckbuddy, Lina.”

With that, Carolina pinned her against the wall by choking her. “You really think that’s the problem I have with it?! You used C.T. like she was your own personal sex toy and you didn’t even care about what it did to her or if she even wanted it!” She released South as she glared at her with bitter hatred. “You brought this on yourself, South. Don’t pretend that this isn’t your fault.” She left South there as she returned to the cafeteria.

When she arrived, she saw the other Freelancers comforting C.T. They looked up and saw Carolina once again. She knew what happened. The truth was finally out. C.T. rested her head on North’s shoulder as she cried. Then, C.T. looked up and saw Carolina. She rushed up and hugged her tightly. Carolina tenderly returned the hug.

“Agent Connecticut,” the Counselor said, interrupting them. They both turned to see him standing nearby. “The Director would like to see you.”

C.T. looked up to Carolina, afraid, eyes red from crying. “It’s gonna be okay,” Carolina assured her. C.T. reluctantly let go of her and went with Price. Carolina watched as she let C.T. go. Hoping that this would finally make South truly answer for what she did.

* * *

C.T. sat with the Director and Price as she discussed South’s abuse. “Now, I understand that this may be difficult,” the Director began, “but we need to understand the extent of South’s offenses. Do you understand?” She nodded. “Good. Now, just remember you only need to discuss details that would be beneficial to get proof. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir,” She sheepishly replied.

“Good. Now, we understand that one of these assaults took place in the group showers. Where did the other attacks take place?”

C.T. shifted nervously on the spot before answering. “It was… always in my room. The first time I let her in, I didn’t know why… but after that, she usually waited until after I got my armor off. So… any time after training was done for the day… or when I left the gym…”

The Director nodded. “Make a note of that Counselor.” Price did exactly that while working on his tablet. The Director then turned back to C.T. “So, Agent Carolina said this was going on for months. Can you give me an estimate of how long it was going on?”

“… At least five,” she replied regrettably.

“Five months…” He pinched the bridge of his nose as he sighed. “Agent Connecticut, we are truly sorry for not noticing this sooner.”

“It’s my fault, sir. I… I should have told you sooner.”

“None of it is your fault, Connecticut. We will do everything we can to ensure that you are kept safe from Agent South and that she is held accountable. It’s the least we can do.”

She nodded. “Thank you, sir.”

“You are dismissed. We will provide an escort.”

“Can I request an escort?”

He was confused, but he humored her. “Who do you request.”

“…Agent Carolina… If that’s possible…”

He mulled over it for a moment. “Counselor, please bring back Agent Carolina.”

“Yes, sir,” he replied as he left.

The Director then turned back to her. “Might I ask why you are requesting her.”

 _Because I’m in love with her? I can’t say that_ , she thought. “I… I just feel safer around her. That’s all, sir.”

Thankfully for C.T., he didn’t press the issue any further. “Very well. We will contact you if we are in need of any information regarding the issue of Agent South. Will this be a problem?”

“No, sir.”

“Good. And I meant what I said. I will be sure that Agent South is held accountable.”

Minutes later, Price returned with Carolina by his side. “You wanted to see me, Director?” she asked.

“Actually, it was Agent Connecticut who wanted you here,” he replied. “You will be escorting her to wherever she needs to go for the time being.”

“Understood.”

“Dismissed.” And with that, the two women left the bridge. “You recorded those details that Connecticut mentioned. Correct, Counselor?”

“Indeed, I do, sir,” he replied.

“Good. Alpha. I need you to pull up security camera footage.”

The Alpha A.I. program came to life. “What specifically do you need?”

“I first need you to isolate the cameras in the hall of the Freelancer quarters. Find all comings and goings of Agents South Dakota and Connecticut. Specifically, any footage of them not in armor.”

“Five months? That’s a pretty long time, man.”

The Director sighed once again. “I know. But just get the footage. After that, narrow down any incidents you see Agent South entering and exiting Agent Connecticut’s room.”

“Which room is that again?”

“Room number –“

“I know which fucking room it is. I was joking,” he snapped. “I’m honestly a little insulted you thought I didn’t.”

“Alpha!”

“I’m doing it. I’m doing it.”

The Director watched on-screen as the Alpha pulled up the camera footage. His heart sank as he saw each incident come up one after the other. The Alpha finished running them and it left them with almost twenty incidents. “Damn,” he muttered. “Now, look to any incidents where disciplinary action was taken against Agent South and compare them to the dates of the footage.”

He searched the files and came back. “Alright. The longest time between a disciplinary action and one of these clips is about a day. Each clip corresponds to one major incident. Is that all you need?”

“Yes, Alpha. It is.” He looked at each incident and he was furious.

“So, it appears that Connecticut was telling the truth.”

“Yes, Counselor. It does.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might be the last chapter for a while. I have most of the next two chapters planned out, but I still need to put it together properly. Plus, I do want to get to work on other projects. That said, thanks for reading this far and I hope you will enjoy what I have in store.


	7. Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> North confronts South before she is finally punished and C.T. finally confesses to Carolina. But Carolina isn't sure what to think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep. this is the one where we get a punishment for South. While it may not seem like much when you read it, but the Director has basically carved out South's own personal Hell. And, the moment you've all been waiting for, C.T.'s confession! It'll be pretty good.
> 
> Side note: South isn't going to be that sympathetic when North talks to her. Like I said, she has some serious psychological issues and she isn't entirely capable of processing emotions like most people do. So, the connection to her brother is kinda self-serving. I mean, she wants at least one person on her side, so you can kinda see where she's coming from. It's a bit complicated to explain (and is getting much longer than a side note), but I just want to make it clear that South isn't made to be sympathetic in this fic no matter how it may seem.
> 
> Anyway, without further ado, here's chapter 7.

South stood in front of a window, staring out to the open space. Suffice to say, she was not happy. She didn’t know what to say about this. She wanted to break something so badly. _Maybe I should break Carolina’s bones to start while I still have the chance._

That’s when North walked in. Sorrow noticeable in his expression. He didn’t know how to reconcile the news he just heard and the love he had for his sister. Although the latter was definitely coming into question. He needed to know the truth.

He walked closer to South. “Go away, Nate,” She grumbled. She only used his real name when they were alone.

North chuckled. “I thought you might need some company.” She said nothing. “It just seemed like the Director was being a bit hard on you there.” Nothing again. “And Carolina’s attack wasn’t much better. Even I was worried.” Still nothing. It was never this hard for him to get through to her. “Still, it wasn’t a good idea to pull a gun on her.”

“Cut the crap, Nathan. I know Connie told you that bullshit story. And I know that’s what you wanna ask about.”

“Is it really true?”

“Of course, it isn’t! And you know it!”

“Alright… so why would she lie about it?”

Her fist slammed into the glass in anger. “Because everyone in this goddamn place is out to get me! That’s why!”

“Even C.T.?”

“Connie, Carolina, the Director, all of them just want me gone!”

“Well, you are causing them a hell of a lot of problems.”

“Really, Nathan?! I thought you were on my side! I thought you were supposed to have my back!”

North sighed. “What happened between you and C.T.?”

“Why are you asking me about this?!”

“You wanna set the record straight, Sasha? Here’s your chance! So, what the fuck is going on between you two? Threatening to kill her doesn’t make things look any better for you!”

She only turns away from him. “You know how I feel about that name.”

“I’m your brother. You don’t need to put up these walls again.”

“I don’t care! I hated the name when we were kids, and I still sure as fuck hate it now.”

“It’s the name you were born with.”

“I still don’t like it! It’s a dumb name!”

“If that’s something worth being angry about, then maybe everyone was right about you needing help.”

“ **What is with everyone suggesting that I’m the fucking problem?!** I was always the problem in school when the other kids pissed me off! When the teachers didn’t like me! When the drill-Sargent didn’t think I was a ‘model soldier,’ whatever the fuck **that** means! Why do I still have to be the problem now?!”

“You can control your own rage, not us.”

“Nathan! I am sick and tired of always being the one at fault just because I get angry! Everyone always says I need to stop getting angry all the time and the one time I find a way to deal with it and you all have a problem with it when the little bitch rats me out for it!”

And there it was. Her admitting it. She saw his face change. It wasn’t good. “Wait,” she says. “Nathan, you don’t understand.”

“You know,” he began while looking down, “I kinda didn’t wanna believe it. I mean, hearing your sister is a rapist? It’s not an easy pill to swallow.”

“Nate, you can’t seriously be siding against me, are you?”

“I feel like it’s kinda my fault for letting it happen. I mean, I’m your brother and I should’ve seen the warning signs.”

“Don’t do this to me!”

“Sasha…” North sighed while thinking of something of what to say. South thought that someone would at least be on her side, but the last possible person who could be on her side. “…Sasha, I just can’t stand by you on this one. I’m sorry…”

In a flash of anger, she punched him in the face. Repeatedly. “ **Fuck you!** Fuck you, Nate! You wanna leave me, then **fuck you, you son of a bitch!** I don’t need you, and I don’t need anyone!”

North was horrified by her response. South had truly gone off the deep end. He knew South had a problem. He knew it was only a matter of time before she did something drastic. But he never expected it to be so soon. Or to be something so drastic. As much as he wanted to be there for his sister, this was a situation she got herself into. Something he couldn’t defend.

South simply fell to her knees as she wallowed in her own anger. North simply walked away from her. Leaving her alone. It was for the best.

* * *

Carolina walked with C.T. down the hall. “Thank you for doing this, Carolina,” C.T. said. “And I’m sorry you got in trouble because of me.”

“It’s the least I could do,” Carolina replied. “And I told you it was my choice to fight South. You’re not responsible for that.”

“I still feel like it. You did it because of what she did to me.”

“C.T. You don’t need to act like it’s your fault. None of it is. South is the one who raped you. That was all her. And I’m the one who decided to fight her. You didn’t force me to do anything. You don’t need to feel guilty.”

“… Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” she said with a smirk. “Out of curiosity, why did you choose me to be your escort?”

 _Should I tell her?_ “Uh… well…” _I may not get another chance at this…_ “We’re… we’re friends, right?”

Carolina raised an eyebrow. “I’d like to think so.”

“Well… would you still… I mean, would you be… a friend no matter what?”

“Yeah, I would,” she replied. “C.T., where are you going with this?”

“Well… I chose you because… the thing is… I just…” C.T. had trouble finding the right words. “Goddammit,” she muttered. _I don’t know if I can do this._

Now, Carolina was genuinely concerned. “C.T.?”

C.T. didn’t know what to say now. _…You know what? Fuck it._ At that moment, C.T. took Carolina’s face and kissed her tenderly. Carolina’s eyes went wide with shock when this happened. When C.T. let go, she finally confessed. “That’s why, Carolina.”

Carolina picked up on it immediately. _She… she was in love with me…?_ “How long have you felt this way?”

“Not long after I got to Freelancer,” she shamefully admitted. “I had wanted to tell you for a long time but…”

“South started happening?”

C.T. nodded, much to Carolina’s sorrow. “I couldn’t face you the same way after that. And then you and York started seeing each other… I didn’t think I had a chance.” Carolina was speechless. “I just… I needed to tell you… I’m sorry for making this awkward.”

“C.T…”

“I’m not asking you to love me back. It’s okay. I just thought I’d never get the chance to tell you again. Let’s just get to the lockers so I can get my suit on.”

Carolina opened her mouth to say something else, but she couldn’t think of anything. When they got to the locker room, C.T. took the separate parts of her armor and put them on. “You know,” C.T. said, “I really appreciate doing what you did.”

Carolina shrugged as she went to get her helmet when she left it from earlier. “I just wanted to help a fellow teammate if I could.” She solemnly looked at her helmet as she sat back down. “I’m sorry I didn’t… stop her… when I saw you guys.”

“It’s okay. You didn’t know better.”

“But I should’ve at least done something. If I did, I could’ve –“

“Lina,” she interrupted as she put on her boots. “South had been doing this stuff for months. One time isn’t going to change anything.”

“Don’t say it like that. I should’ve at least asked questions when I saw it. How could you say that?”

C.T. stopped just short of putting on her gloves. “Look… to be honest… I was a little letdown… when you thought I wanted it…” Tears started falling again and she wiped them from her face. “…but that’s all that worried me. Believe it or not, I’m actually glad you didn’t try to stop her.”

Carolina’s face contorted into confusion. “How could you say that?”

“I know it doesn’t make sense, but… every time I’ve ever tried to stop her only makes her more aggressive… and if you tried to stop her, it would’ve only made things worse.”

“Oh…” _That… actually kinda made sense…_

“I know you feel guilty for it, but you shouldn’t beat yourself up over it.”

Carolina placed her helmet on the bench beside her. “Maybe you should apply that advice to you not telling anyone.” C.T. looked over at her again. “You aren’t responsible for letting South do what she did. Honestly, if I was in your position, I can’t really say I wouldn’t have done the same thing. I’d like to think otherwise, but you never really know.”

C.T. smiles a broken smile back at Carolina. “Thanks.” As C.T. put her gloves on, Carolina leaned forward and gave her a gentle kiss. C.T. was practically speechless. “Wh… why would… I…”

Carolina gave her another kiss and said, “After all this pain, you could use something comforting for once.”

“I said you don’t need to love me back.”

“I know… but I thought you at least deserved a kiss.”

C.T. smiled as tears fell from her eyes. “Thank you." 

* * *

The following day, South was called into the bridge once again. The Director had been waiting for her. While he didn’t show it, he was furious. Suffice to say, so was she. After losing North’s respect completely, she had lost just about everything she could lose other than her sanity. (Whatever was there at least.) This punishment was just going to be icing on the cake.

South stood in front of the Director, barely concealing her rage. The Director only glared at her with contempt. “Agent South Dakota.” At least he didn’t use my real name. “Your egregious sexual offenses committed against Agent Connecticut have been discussed with the UNSC. I must admit that there are not a lot of qualified candidates for the Freelancer program. Replacing you would be quite difficult. Instead, we have agreed upon a suitable punishment for you for the time being. And it is a hefty one. For starters, you will be indefinitely suspended from missions. Effective immediately. You will also be under constant supervision by guards.”

“You know guards won’t stop me.”

“Well, if they don’t stop you, they will report you and at that moment, your role in Project Freelancer will be terminated permanently.” Her fists clenched. “And that’s not all. You will also be required to attend mandatory behavioral correction with Counselor Price to mitigate your aggressive outbursts. And you will not be allowed to exit that office until Counselor Price allows it. You won’t be throwing a tantrum and running out like last time.”

“I did not. Have. A tantrum!”

Resisting the urge to let her know that she wasn’t helping her case, he continued. “And even if you manage to make progress, you will still not be allowed to be on your own. Another Freelancer other than Agent Connecticut must be by your side at all times. If you are on your own, you will be sent back to those correctional sessions. If you’re found alone with Connecticut, you will be taken out of this program. Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir,” South grumbled.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t quite hear that.”

She sighed. “Yes, sir!”

“Good. You should also know that if you are taken out of Project Freelancer, you will be handed over to the authorities over at the UNSC for a criminal conviction. And they won’t be as kind with their punishment. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Now these gentlemen,” he points at the guards coming up behind her, “will escort you to your new quarters since you cannot be trusted in the group freelancer quarters. And I should let you know that entering that hall for any reason other than a life-or-death situation, you will be punished severely.”

“I got it.” She walked away with the escorts.

“Oh, and one more thing,” he added when she was halfway across the room. “Until such a time that you are proven to be fit for duty, you will be taken off the A.I. implantation list.”

“WHAT?!” That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. South was angry before, but now she was outright furious. “You can’t do that!”

“I already have! Effective immediately!”

“That’s fucking **bullshit**!”

“Save it. You know you don’t get a choice in this, Sasha.”

 _That **fucking**_ _does it!_ South attempted to attack the Director, but the escorts hold her back. They were bigger than her and she was unable to overpower them. She was left thrashing at the Director like a rabid animal.

“Please escort Agent South to her new quarters immediately.” He turned back to his other work.

“YOU SON OF A BITCH!” She had even more choice expletives for him as they dragged her out, literally kicking and screaming.

The Director knew that the restrictions would aggravate South enough to be a psychological punishment. But her removal from the A.I. implantation list would’ve hurt her the most. She had noticed that her peers had ostracized her by now. Even her own brother. Her punishment was tailor-made for South. If she ever actually got through the behavioral correction, there was no chance that she’d ever do anything like that again.

* * *

C.T. sat with North in the cafeteria. “I’m really sorry for what my sister did to you. I hope I can at least come close to making it up to you.”

“You don’t have to do that, North,” she replied. “Like you said, it was what your sister did. Not you.”

He solemnly nodded. “I can only imagine how terrible it was… sorry. You probably don’t wanna be talking about it that much.”

“It’s okay. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”

“How has everyone else been treating you?”

“Much nicer, now. Even Wyoming has stopped giving me condescending insults.”

“Yeah, for him, that’s like giving you the biggest hug.”

Florida comes over to them and places her lunch down. “Her you are, C.T.,” he said in his usual cheerful manner. “I hope you enjoy it.”

“Thanks, Florida.”

“It’s my pleasure. After all, a satisfied teammate is one that will excel on missions.”

“Oh…” she said, realizing that’s why he was being nice. North only rolled his eyes.

“Oh, darn it! I forgot to get you your drink. I’ll be back in a second.”

As Florida left, North noted, “You know, I can never really tell when he’s genuinely being nice or not.”

“One of the many creepy things about Florida.” Both of them laugh. C.T. was glad that she could still have a laugh about things. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever get over the trauma that South caused, but she wasn’t going to let it stop her from enjoying the little things when she could.

Further away at a different table, York & Carolina sat across from each other while they ate. Carolina had hardly touched her food. Her cheek rested on her fist as she looked over at C.T. talking with North. Deep in thought. York noticed this and knew something was up. York elbowed her in the shoulder, breaking her out of her trance-like state. “Something eatin’ you, Lina?”

“What gave you that impression?” she dully replied.

“Well, for one, you’re not eating that,” he noted as he pointed at her tray. She simply glared at him. “You know you like that joke.”

“It was pretty corny even by your standards.”

“Fair enough. But in all seriousness, I noticed you haven’t taken your eyes off of C.T. for like the last five minutes.”

“How do you know I wasn’t looking at North?”

“Because you’ve got me here.” He smirked, and she chuckled. But the joke reminded her of what she was thinking about.

“York… I can tell you a secret, right?”

“Like that the fact that you actually have a birthmark that looks like both of the Carolinas combined on your –“

“Can you be serious for one damn minute?”

“I can do that. Just don’t want to right now.”

“You will if you hear what I have to say.” Carolina got up and sat next to York. She whispered, “You cannot tell anyone about this.”

“Okay.”

She tried to think of the best way to put this. “C.T… C.T. is in love with me.”

“Really? How do you know?”

“She told me. She kissed me and she told me she’s been in love with me from the moment we met.”

“Hm…”

“I mean, she didn’t ask me to love her back, but… it’s not something I can get off my mind. It’s just… You know what? I shouldn’t have mentioned it. Sorry for making this weird.”

“On the contrary. I’m actually happy about it.” Carolina looked at her with confusion. “Now Wyoming owes me two hundred bucks.”

Her eyes widen. “You knew?”

“I had a hunch. I know someone in love when I see it. I’ve noticed a few glances that she’s made your way when you’re on to the gym. A few times she’s made some offhand compliments to you about how great a soldier you are. The fact that the way she talks about you, other than when she talks to you, seems to change.”

“Are you sure you’re not describing yourself, York?”

“How do you think I caught on?”

She smirked again. “So… you’re not mad?”

“Nah. Not really.”

“It’s not because you wanna see me and C.T. making out, is it?”

He chuckles. “Come on, Carolina! I’m not that much of a perv.”

“The cum stains in my mattress beg to differ.”

“Again, my apologies. But in all seriousness… with everything that she’s been through… it’s something she could use.”

“You’re not telling me to give her a pity-fuck, are you?”

“Absolutely not! I’m just asking you… to think about how you feel about this. Consider it seriously.”

“What if that means breaking up with you?”

“Well… I think she’d need you more than I do. Just know that whatever choice you make… I’ll still love you.”

A smile crept up on Carolina’s face. Then something dawned on her. “I think I have an idea.”

* * *

At the end of the day, All the Freelancers returned to their rooms. C.T. entered her own as she heard Florida wishing everyone goodnight. It was a bit rough going to bed at night even though she knew South couldn’t hurt her anymore. It didn’t help the nightmares. It would take some time to get used to.

“C.T.,” she heard from the door. She knew that voice. Carolina.

She opened the door immediately. “What’s up?”

“Well… I was wondering if you might…” She sighs and smiles. “Shit, I’m just trying to phrase it in a way that doesn’t sound weird.” C.T. raised an eyebrow. “If you’re having nightmares… you might want someone to… stay with you for the night.”

C.T. wasn’t sure what to say. But, she wasn’t going to turn this down. She hesitantly nods. “I’d like that. Uh… come in. Please.”

Carolina. “And I wanted to talk about something York and I discussed.”

“What is it?”

“It’s about… us.”

“…What do you mean?”

Carolina tried to think of a good way to say it. “Well… I know you love me… but I do love York. However… York and I wanted you to… be with us?”

C.T. was a bit confused. “Like… you, me, and York? Wait, was he asking for a threesome.”

“No! No, not at all. Although, that would be an option. I mean, you don’t have to sleep with York or anything. I know you’re not into guys –“

“Actually, I kinda am.” Carolina stopped her train of thought. She was pleasantly surprised. “I prefer women, but I don’t mind men.”

“Oh! Well… I guess that’s irrelevant.” She nervously laughed as C.T. laughed with her to make things less awkward. “But, I don’t know if you wanna do this. I mean, that’s the best option. I’m not into women, but… I’m willing to do it for you. If that’s what you want.”

“Okay,” she quickly responded.

Carolina’s eyes widened. “Really? Just like that?”

“Lina, the girl who I’ve been attracted to for months is finally willing to fuck me. I’ll take what I can get at this point. You already said you’re straight, so the fact that you’re willing at all is pretty generous.” Carolina shrugged. “But I don’t want you to feel pressured into it or anything because of what happened with South… I don’t want it to be out of pity.”

“Trust me. We’ve thought about this. We talked about it for three hours straight earlier today.”

“And here we thought you were fucking in a broom closet somewhere.”

“No, but that would’ve been a great idea. Goddammit!”

“Like I said, horny teenager.”

“And how many times have you looked at me in the shower?”

C.T. put her head down as she blushed. “Fair enough,” she muttered. Both women laughed.

“But no. It’s not for pity. I do care about you. I want you to be happy. And I’m willing to make things work if you are. Trust me. South wasn’t even a factor in this decision.”

C.T. paused. “You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

C.T. nodded. “Okay. I guess we can talk about it more in the morning. Maybe I’ll join in on the three-hour discussion.”

“Then you can join us for a threesome in the broom closet.”

C.T. as she climbed into bed. Carolina got in with her and put her arms around the other woman. But she started feeling nervous. “Uh, Carolina? I’d… rather you not… do that.”

Carolina knew what it was. It had to be something South did to her. “Okay. Do you wanna spoon me instead?” C.T. nodded as Carolina turned on her side. Never in a hundred years did C.T. expect to be in this situation. It may have taken a lot of pain to get there, but it was worth it. With Carolina… she felt safer already.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How about that?! Things worked out without the added angst of a decision to make. I figured that there's been enough angst to go around in this fic. It's the second to last chapter. Let's just let everyone be happy together and not have a horrible breakup decision to make things even more awkward.
> 
> I'll warn you that I'll be getting quite busy regularly in about a few days, so I won't be pumping out fics like I have been for the past few weeks. So, expect a slow-down in updates pretty soon.


	8. Compromise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> C.T., Carolina, and York start to enjoy their new relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, it's finally here! The ending to _Stress Relief_. I hope everyone has enjoyed it so far and I'm glad to say that I'll be wrapping things up here.
> 
> And yes, you're getting the Carolina/C.T. sex scene. As usual, if you're not interested and wanna skip it, it starts at the triple asterisk (***) and ends with the triple dashes. (---)

The next day, C.T., Carolina, and York sat in the cafeteria together.  Thankfully, York didn’t have many obligations. And of course, Carolina was still suspended from missions. But it gave them all plenty of time to talk.

“Thanks again for letting me in, you guys,” C.T. said. “Are you sure you’re okay with this, York?”

“Well, I already told her I’m okay with her decision,” York responded, “and I’m willing to make it work.” C.T. smiled. She was surprised at how well York was taking the news. It made her hopeful. “Just as long as you don’t mind sharing her,” he said with a smirk.

She laughed as Carolina rolled her eyes. “I don’t mind that much.”

“I didn’t realize I was something to be passed along,” Carolina snarked.

“Hey, we’re just bonding over similar interests,” York noted.

“Wanting to fuck me counts as a similar interest?”

“I mean, it’s already helping. Wouldn’t you say it’s helping us get along, C.T.?”

“I guess,” she answered.

“See, Lina? It helps.”

Carolina leaned closer to her and says, “Now you see what I have to deal with all the time.”

“Aw, come on. If I didn’t know any better then I’d think you were starting to prefer her over me.”

“Maybe I am,” she replied jokingly. “What would you do about it, hm?”

“And here I thought we were reaching a compromise. I’m a little hurt.”

“Always so melodramatic.” Both of them laughed.

C.T. was already thinking that their banter would take a bit of getting used to since she almost thought they were serious. But she still smiled anyway.

“So, C.T.,” Carolina said, “are you sure you still wanna be a part of this?”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” she replied. “It’ll take a bit of getting used to for sure. This is a new thing for me.”

“It’s new for all of us. Definitely new for me on a few more levels than you guys.”

“Yeah, I guess dating a girl isn’t really something you’ve had a lot of experience with doing.”

“Well, I’ll do it for you. Who knows? I might end up liking girls after all.”

“Trust me, Carolina,” York says, “girls are definitely worth a try. I speak from experience.”

“He does have a point,” C.T. replies.

Both of them laugh as Carolina smiles and shakes her head. “You guys are unbelievable.”

C.T. only smiled. “But really. I’m glad that you’re willing to do this. After South… I… I’m just glad something good is coming out of it.” She tried to hold back the tears. Carolina put her arm around her.

“It’s okay, Connie.”

“C.T.!” she snapped. She startled both Carolina and York. “Sorry,” she said as she realized that. “It’s just that… she called me that when she…”

“I’m sorry,” Carolina replied in a somber tone. “I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay. I just… everything is still a bit fresh in my mind.”

“We’re always here to help,” York noted in an unusually serious tone. “You don’t have to be alone in this anymore.”

She gave a small smile. “Thanks… I really appreciate it.”

“Oh, good. The lovebirds are all together.” They looked up and saw Wyoming’s annoyed expression.

“Isn’t there someone else’s day you can go ruin?” York chided.

“I was actually about to go see Wash, but I couldn’t help but notice this.”

“You’re just mad because you lost two hundred bucks.”

“I didn’t think we’d ever find out. Even if we did, I was confident it wasn’t true.”

“Then I guess that’s your problem.”

Wyoming only frowned angrily as he walked away. C.T. looked back at York. “I still can’t believe you had a bet over if I liked Carolina.”

“Is it really that surprising?” Carolina asked.

“…No, I guess not.”

* * *

A week later, North was on his way to training when he saw South (and her guards) in the hall going the other way. She was still unarmored, and she still looked absolutely miserable. But no less furious. He only saw her a couple times during training, and even then, it wasn’t for long. But North looked down at her hands and saw bloody bandages around her knuckles. He wasn’t on the best of terms with her sister right now (and didn’t know if he ever would be again) but he couldn’t help his brotherly instincts.

“Did you do that to yourself?” he asked.

“ **Shut up, North!** ” South screamed at him as she tried to get in his face. The guards had to restrain her to prevent her from attacking him.

“You can’t be angry at me. You brought this on yourself.”

“That doesn’t mean I can’t be fucking pissed about it!” Her scowl became more prominent as she was dragged away.

North turned around and saw the Counselor standing behind him. “She’s not getting any better, is she?”

Price’s face remained unchanged as he spoke. “Protocol states that I’m not at liberty to disclose anything about a patient.”

“Then why does she have bloody knuckles? Has she just been punching the walls of her cell?”

“That I can say is true.”

North walked closer to him. “Come on, isn’t there anything you can tell me about her? Anything at all?”

“You seem rather concerned about her despite her sexual misconduct.”

North had trouble coming up with a good enough answer. “Well… she is still my sister. I’m not forgiving her for what she did, but… I just need to know what could’ve been done. You know I wouldn’t say anything.”

Price contemplated it as his eyes narrowed. North waited patiently for his response. “Agent South’s condition seems to be neurological,” he began. “I haven’t yet gotten clearance to do brain scans, but it’s possible that this is something that is inherent in how her brain works. Did she ever have similar conduct issues in her youth?” North nodded. “As I suspected.”

“So what’s wrong with her?”

“Her behavior seems to be consistent with Cluster-B personality disorders based on the information I’ve gathered. Nothing quite conclusive."

"Was I meant to understand that?"

"Doubtful. I'm merely stating what I know based on her actions. Though, as odd as it may seem, South’s ‘relations’ with Agent Connecticut were helpful to her condition.”

“What?”

“Allow me to explain. With the rate of South’s rapidly growing anger as observed over the past few days, had she not been doing it, she might have had an emotional breakdown possibly as soon as two months.” North was struggling to truly understand this. “We have attempted to suggest other sexual alternatives to reduce her stress, but it appears that it was not the sex specifically that she wanted.”

“So, you’re saying there’s not much you could’ve done?”

“It’s highly doubtful, but I intend to find a solution if possible.”

“If not?”

Price paused and still retained his ever-stoic expression. “You have a good day, Agent North.” But north could’ve sworn that he saw something of a smile creep up on the Counselor’s face. It really didn’t sit right with him, but he couldn’t keep burdening himself with it. What’s done is done. South made her choice. And now she was facing the consequences. He didn’t want to so coldly dismiss his own sister, but he was left with no choice after what she did.

* * *

Over the next few weeks, things started looking up for C.T. Even as missions were getting tougher, but that wasn’t surprising. She still had Carolina watching her back. She even made it up on the leaderboards. And at night, sleeping with her by her side helped to ease the nightmares. They only saw South a few times in the hallways or in training. She still looked miserable, but none of the other Freelancers really could bring themselves to feel bad for her.

But most of all, her relationship with Carolina actually was working out. She did spend a few more nights sleeping with Carolina by her side. And she never got too jealous of York now that they were both dating her. She was still surprised that he was willing to do this. And not even in the sleazy way. He genuinely wanted what was best for both of them and wanted things to work.

C.T. still took a while to have sex with Carolina. The trauma didn’t exactly go away after it happened. But she really wanted to do it. She was still too afraid of intimacy. She tried masturbating just to get used to the feeling of someone’s fingers down there without her having a panic attack. She didn’t mind that Carolina still slept with York, but she still wanted that sort of connection.

Well, tonight, she was finally going to do it. She was going to ask Carolina. C.T. was still extremely nervous, but she wanted to take things to the next level. Carolina entered her room in her usual tank top and shorts while C.T. was still in her compression suit. “Hey, Carolina,” said C.T.

“Hey,” Carolina replied. “Had a long day?”

“Very.”

“I guess you’re ready to go to sleep, huh?”

“Actually… I wanted to do something else.”

“And what would that be?”

C.T. paused. I guess there is no getting around it, she thought. I just have to come out and say it. “I want to have sex tonight.”

Carolina was taken aback. “Are you serious? Are… are you really ready for it again?”

“About as ready as I’ll ever be. I’m not… fully prepared. I’m sure something will trigger me, but… I just really want to do this with you.”

“C.T., you don’t have to push yourself if you don’t think you’re ready.”

“No, no. I think I’m ready.”

Carolina was hesitant. She didn’t want to do anything without her consent. But she seemed willing. Carolina sighed and said, “Okay. If your really wanna do this… then let’s do it. Just make sure to let me know if anything makes you uncomfortable. Okay?”

“I will. We’ll take it slow.”

Carolina smirked. She didn’t really believe she was doing this, but she was. C.T. peeled off her compression suit and she was left in only her sports bra and panties. She moved closer to Carolina and kissed her tenderly. The two of them laid back on the bed and C.T. pulled off Carolina’s tank top. She took a moment to take in the view. “Liking what you see?”

“A lot.”

She couldn’t help but smile at C.T.’s awe. “You know you’re allowed to touch, right? I’m sure you’ve gotten enough looks in the shower.”

C.T. laughed nervously. “Right.” She pulled off her bra and tossed it to the side.

“You’re looking pretty good yourself.”

“I thought you weren’t into girls before.”

“Well… I think I’m starting to see the appeal.” C.T. smiled at that.

***

She gently pushed Carolina onto the bed as she kissed every inch of her skin. Carolina’s breathing became heavier when she felt C.T.’s lips on her body. One hand moved lower to rub Carolina’s crotch as she kissed her body. She then kissed her neck Carolina’s hands came up to wrap her hands around C.T. “I hope you don’t plan on teasing me the whole time.”

C.T. chuckled as she slipped her fingers into Carolina’s pants and rubbed her labia directly. The motions of C.T.’s fingers made her even wetter. She’s really good at this, Carolina thought. Then again, she would be good at it.

She started down Carolina’s body, kissing her abs just before pulling down her pants. But C.T. hesitated. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to go down on a girl after what happened. Carolina looked down at her. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, just… it’s a bit –“

“You don’t have to do it if you’re not ready for it.”

“No, I want to. Just… do you mind if just keep your hands off my head?”

“You can hold down my wrists if you have to.”

“Now you’re just getting kinky.”

Both women laugh. “Well, if it helps you feel better.”

C.T. smirked. She gently took her hands and prepared to go down on her. Her tongue slowly dragged along Carolina’s slick folds. The redhead quietly moaned as she felt C.T.’s tongue against her. She was careful and patient, but it already started to cause Carolina to grip the sheets of her bed tightly.

The teasing continued as C.T. circled her clit with her tongue. “Fuck…” Carolina muttered as her breathing became heavier. “C.T…” Hearing Carolina moaning her name made this all worth it. She was still trying to ignore the memories with South, but already, it was getting easier. (Not perfect, but easier.)

Carolina’s back arched as she felt her orgasm building up. A low moan escaped her lips and it inspired C.T. to start going even faster. She wanted to hear more of Carolina’s pleasure. She released one of Carolina’s hands and started fingering her as she sucked on her clit. Trying to find her G-spot. It was driving Carolina crazy. She almost forgot not to touch C.T.’s head, so she fondled her breast instead as her moans grew louder.

“Don’t stop… please…” C.T. was happy to oblige. She started fingering her faster just before leaving kisses all over her stomach. Carolina muttered obscenities under her breath as she felt herself getting closer. Her hips bucked as C.T. found her G-spot. She was losing control quickly. “Oh, fuck… I’m… I’m gonna cum!”

C.T. went back down to suck on her clit. She heard Carolina’s beautiful moan as she came. Carolina’s eyes rolled back as she gripped the sheets even tighter. Wave after wave of pleasure swept over her body as C.T. kept going. As she finally came down from orgasm, Carolina fell flat on her back as she tried to catch her breath.

“Holy… shit… that was… incredible.” Carolina sat up and saw C.T. frantically wiping her fluids from her face. “Are you alright?” she asked.

“I- I'm fine. I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“If there’s something wrong, you can tell me.”

C.T. simply shook her head. “Just… a bad memory… nothing to do with you.”

“Well, why don’t I go down on you? Would that be okay?” C.T. nodded as she pulled down her panties. She laid on the bed and spread her legs for Carolina. She put her face between C.T.’s legs. “I… haven’t really done this before…”

“No shit, Lina,” she snarked with a smirk. Carolina still chuckled at the comment. “I’ll help you out if you need it.”

Carolina nodded. She knew what she would want if someone were giving her head, but it still seemed a bit different being on the other end. She simply began by hesitantly licking her labia as C.T. was getting wetter.

Carolina moved along her inner thigh, leaving kisses to tease her. C.T. loved the sensation. Carolina kept going until C.T. was fully aroused. She could already hear her breath becoming shorter. “For someone who’s never done this before,” C.T. noted, “you do a good job of it.”

“Thanks.” She kept licking the slick folds as she listened to C.T.’s moans. She was quieter than Carolina expected. Still, she kept going as C.T. raked her hands through her red hair. Her tongue circled C.T.’s clit as her breathing became heavier.

C.T. could hardly believe it was happening. Carolina going down on her was practically a dream come true. “Keep going…” Carolina only heard the occasional moans from her. But she could tell she was enjoying it. She was going to cum any minute now. Carolina picked up her pace to get C.T. closer to orgasm. “Yes…”

She started sucking on C.T.’s clit as her breathing became even heavier and more erratic. She knew she was close now.

“Carolina…” She let out a quiet moan, but Carolina could tell that it was intense. C.T. used one of her hands to fondle her breasts as the other was on the back of Carolina’s head. It was the first enjoyable orgasm she had in a long time.

As she came down from it, she released Carolina’s hair as she fell on her back. Carolina climbed up to the bed. “Was it good?”

“It was great.”

\---

They laid down on the bed as C.T. wrapped her arms around Carolina. “So…” C.T. began, “… how was it for you?”

“I think I might be interested in girls after all.” Both women laughed. “Well, I guess we should tell York that you finally…”

“Yeah… but that can wait. I’m really tired.”

“Same here.”

Silence passed between them before C.T. decided to give Carolina one final kiss. “Thank you,” she gently whispered before nuzzling her head into her shoulder.

Carolina smiled as her arm found its way around the other woman. She left a kiss on her forehead. “No need to thank me.”

A tear fell down from C.T.’s eye. “I… I love you.”

“…I love you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you have enjoyed the story. I had a great time writing for these characters and I really hope you guys enjoyed reading it just as much. :) I worked rather hard on it and I'd appreciate any feedback you can give me.
> 
> Final thoughts:
> 
> Though, I will say that if you only read this fic, you'd think I hated South for how I portrayed her. While she was a horrible person in canon, I don't have that much hatred towards her. Fun Fact: The original idea for this story was more of a Carolina/South hate-sex smut piece (which would have been mutually consensual). South being a rapist was something that changed early in my brainstorming process. So, that goes to show you how much a story can evolve. I never planned for it to be this detailed.
> 
> Also, if anyone was wondering, Maine, Florida, and Wash never take off their helmets. I thought I would try to be consistent with the show in that regard. So, even if other people have them off, it's best to assume those three have them on. (I'll be sure to mention that in the notes early on for later.)
> 
> By the way, if it seems like Price really just doesn't give two craps about what happens one way or the other, it's because he doesn't. He's more-or-less going along with the flow of things. (And if you know enough about psychology, you might have recognized the diagnosis.)
> 
> But anyway, that's all I have to say for that. For now, I'll be working more on _The Makings of Team CRME_. (If you haven't checked it out, I recommend it. It's going to be even more ambitious than this story. Thank you all for reading.


End file.
